The Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, July 20, 2022, interacted with the Indian contingent bound for the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2022 via video conferencing. The interaction was attended by both athletes as well as their coaches. Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports and Information & Broadcasting, Anurag Singh Thakur, and the Secretary for Sports were also present.
PM Modi wished the Indian contingent for Commonwealth Games and informed that more than 65 athletes are participating in Commonwealth for the first time and he wished them to make a tremendous impact. He advised them to “play with all your heart, play hard, play with full force and will play without any stress."
The interaction also included mentions about International Chess day whereby information about the Chess Olympiad, taking place from July 28, 2022, was also shared. He wished them for making India proud, as their predecessors did before.
During the interaction, the Prime Minister spoke to Avinash Sable, an athlete from Maharashtra, and asked about his life experience of coming from the state and working in the Indian Army in Siachen. Answering PM Modi, Sable said that he got to learn a lot from his 4 years stint in the Indian Army and added that discipline and training he received would help him shine every field.
Furthermore, the PM asked him the reason to choose the steeplechase field while working in Siachen, to which he said that the steeplechase was all about crossing obstacles and he received similar training in the Army.
PM also asked about his experience of losing weight so fast, and he swiftly replied that the Army motivated him to join sports whereby he got extra time to train himself and this helped in losing weight.
The Prime Minister further went on to speak with Achinta Sheuli - a weightlifter in the 73 kg category, Treesa Jolly - a badminton player from Kerala, Salima Tete - a hockey player from Jharkhand, Sharmila - a para athlete in shotput from Haryana, David Beckham - a cyclist from Andaman and Nicobar, and others.
Addressing the sportspersons after the interaction, PM Modi said that he was not able to meet them in person due to him being preoccupied with Parliament, however, promised them that he would meet them when they come back and that he would celebrate their victory together. “The goal is to see the tricolor fluttering, to hear the national anthem being played. That's why don't take pressure, make an impact with a good and strong game”, he added.
Last year, Prime Minister interacted with the Indian athletes’ contingent bound for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the Indian para-athletes’ contingent for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
The CWG 2022 is scheduled to be held in Birmingham from July 28 to August 8, 2022 and a total of 215 athletes will be participating in 141 events across 19 sporting disciplines who will represent India in the CWG 2022
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