The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, recently felicitated the Indian contingent for the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022. The event was held in the national capital, New Delhi, and the felicitation was attended by both athletes and their coaches. Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports and Information & Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur and Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Nisith Pramanik were also present at the occasion.
PM congratulated the players and coaches for their stupendous performance at the Commonwealth Games 2022 held in Birmingham, where India bagged 22 Gold, 16 Silver and 23 Bronze medals in various disciplines. He welcomed the athletes and coaches and expressed immense pride in the accomplishments of India’s athletes at CWG 2022 and said that it is a matter of pride that due to the splendid hard work of the sportspersons, the country is entering into the Azadi ka Amrit Kaal with an inspiring achievement.
Adding more, he also highlighted that in the last few weeks, the country has accomplished two major achievements in the field of sports. Along with the historic performance in the Commonwealth Games, the country has organized the Chess Olympiad for the first time, the PM said, and further noted that as per his promise at the time of the contingent’s send-off, the country is celebrating the victory today.
Addressing the athletes, he mentioned “while all of you were competing in Birmingham, crores of Indians were keeping awake till late night here in India, watching your every action. Many people used to sleep with alarms set up so that they remained updated on the performances.”
Talking about the performances, he remarked that numbers do not reflect the entire story as many medals were missed by the narrowest possible margins which will soon be rectified by the determined players. He said that India has found a new way of winning in four new games as compared to last time and the trend of youth towards new sports in the country is going to increase a lot.
Moreover, he highlighted the achievements of the daughters of India in boxing, judo, wrestling and their domination in the CWG 2022 by adding that said 31 medals came from the players who were making their debut indicating the growing confidence of the youth. Modi also added the athletes inspire the youth of the country to do better not only in sports but also in other sectors. “You weave the country in unity of thought and goal that was also one the great strength of our freedom struggle”, he said.
He expressed happiness upon the players who emerged out of the Khelo India stage and had done extremely well on the international stage, and also mentioned the positive effect of TOPS (Target Olympic Podium Scheme) which was now being seen there by highlighting the need to intensify our efforts to discover new talent and take them to the podium.
“We have a responsibility to create a sports ecosystem that is globally excellent, inclusive, diverse and dynamic. No talent should be left behind”, he stressed.
Acknowledging the role of coaches, sports administrators and support staff in the success of the players, he urged the athletes to prepare well for the upcoming Asian Games and Olympics. Requests were made to the athletes and their coaches to encourage children by visiting 75 schools, and educational institutions in the country, last year under the 'Meet the Champion' campaign as this is will help the youth of the nation looks toward the athletes as role models.
PM added that, “your growing recognition, capability and acceptance should be utilised for the younger generation of the country,” and concluded his address by congratulating the athletes on their ‘Vijay Yatra’ and wished them the very best for future endeavours.
The CWG 2022 was held in Birmingham from 28th July till 08th August 2022. A total of 215 athletes participated in 141 events across 19 sporting disciplines, where India bagged 22 Gold, 16 Silver and 23 Bronze medals in various disciplines
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