Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with some of India’s Tokyo-bound athletes, on Tuesday, July 13, three days before the first batch departs for the Japanese capital for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. He interacted with Deepika Kumari, Pravin Jadhav, Neeraj Chopra, Dutee Chand, Ashish Kumar, Mary Kom, PV Sindhu, Elavenil Valarivan, Saurabh Chaudhary, Sharath Kamal, Manika Batra, Vinesh Phogat, Sajan Prakash, Manpreet Singh and Sania Mirza.
Union sports and youth affairs minister Anurag Thakur, minister of state Nisith Pramanik and law minister Kiren Rijiju also present during the talks. Modi started the conversation by asking the sportspersons about their aims and challenges ahead of the international event. He asked them not to feel the pressure of expectations at home. “Very soon, winning will become a habit for this new India,” said PM Modi. The Prime Minister spoke with the athletes about their journey in sport thus far and motivated them ahead of the Tokyo Games. PM Modi told them that they had qualities like dedication, determination and discipline, which made them a “Reflection of new India.” PM Modi also told them to not worry about pressure and just play with all their heart at the Olympics.
A total of 126 athletes across 18 sports disciplines from India will be heading to Tokyo. This is the biggest-ever contingent India is sending to any Olympics. The 69 cumulative events across these disciplines that India will participate in, is also the highest ever for the country. The Tokyo Olympics is set to commence from July 23 and will run till August 8.
