PM Modi wishes athletes luck ahead of Olympic Games

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 13

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi donned the role of an interviewer during his interaction with some of the known Indian athletes, who will represent India at the soon-to-start Tokyo Olympics.

During the virtual interaction, which was also attended by sports minister Anurag Thakur, law minister Kiren Rijiju, PM Modi quizzed several of the Tokyo-bound athletes about their struggles and motivation to stay to their mission despite struggles.

Ace archer Deepika Kumari was the first of the athletes with whom the PM interacted.

“Your love for the game started when you targeted mangoes with the arrows. Now you are World No.1. Tell us about your journey,” the PM asked.

“I started with the Indian bow. Despite a few struggles earlier on I got the best of facilities and best coaches and here I am today,” Deepika answered.

When asked to explain how she copes with the expectations, especially after winning three gold medals at the Paris World Cup last month, the 26-year-old ace archer replied: “There will always be expectations but I focus more on my practice and on how I will be performing once I reach there. I focus on these things only”.

The PM then called in another archer, Praveen Jadhav, who has worked hard through the sport to change the lives of his parents Ramesh, who was a daily wage labourer in Satara, Maharashtra.

“Sir whenever I was in difficulty I used to think ‘I will become a daily labourer if I return. It is better to stay and work hard on the sport and get better,” Jadhav replied when he was asked how he coped with difficulties.

The third was boxer Ashish Kumar, who will represent India in the 75kg category. Ashish lost his father Bhagat Ram Dogra a month before his qualifying tournament.

The PM asked him to relay how he fought the dark days. “I was hurting emotionally. My brother, sister and friends supported me. They asked me to try and fulfil my father’s dream,” Ashish said.

The PM called him a victor in life. “If you remember, Sachin Tendulkar did the same when he lost his father in the midst of an important tournament. You did the same for our country. You are a victor both as a person and as an athlete. We hope you perform well at the Olympics,” the PM said.

The PM’s interaction with badminton star PV Sindhu brought the biggest cheers as he promised to share a cup of ice cream with her. Sindhu loves ice cream but now is on a diet before the Olympics.

“Sir I am on a diet due to the preparations. But kasha khaki Hu,” she said. To which the PM retorted after wishing her well for the Olympics.

“We will have ice cream together when you return,” he said.

The PM also interacted with parents and guardians of a few of the athletes including Ramona, Sindhu’s father and Mahavir Phogat, Vinesh Phogat’s uncle.

The Prime Minister asked Vinesh Phogat how hard it was for her to cope up with the heightened expectations due to the legacy of the Phogat family. “Sir we welcome expectations and it pushes us to work harder to achieve our goals. These expectations will end once we return to the country with a medal. Hopefully we will make the country proud,” Vinesh replied.

Interestingly, young shooter Saurabh Chaudhary, who while answering about yoga and other medication exercises that help in sports discipline, quizzed the PM as to how he remained calm and composed while running the government of such a populous country.

Table tennis stars, A Sharath Kamal, Manika Batra, rifle shooter Elavenil Valarivan, tennis ace Sania Mirza, hockey skipper Manpreet Singh, where some of the other athletes with whom the PM interacted.

In the end, the PM regretted that he could not host the athletes before their departure due to the pandemic. “Pandemic has changed your practice and even the year of the Olympics. The whole country is behind you all. These wishes of 135 crore Indians are the blessings of the country for all of you before entering the field of sports,” said the Prime Minister.

The PM further said that our athletes symbolise our country’s future. Your commitment and competitiveness are the same qualities that are found in New India. Athletes reflect the New India and symbolizes the nation’s future,” the PM said.

“Seeing the confidence and energy of young India, I am hopeful that the day is not far when only victory will become New India’s habit,” He advised players to give their best and asked the countrymen to “Cheer4India”.