Tag : Mini-Olympics

The Hawk: It’s an exciting time for sports in India. India has always had a promising and large pool of sporting talent. What was needed was modifying the existing policies and bringing newer ones that match their needs and aspirations. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Government is in mission mode to transform the sports landscape of the country by focusing on grassroots-level talent identification, sports infrastructure building, support to elite athletes, and creating an ecosystem that provides equal opportunities to women, divyangjan, and youth from even the remotest corners of the country. The success stories as well the stories of grit, struggle and determination of multiple sportspersons, of every age group, have found a place in the Prime Minister’s ‘Mann ki Baat’ and the hearts of the nation.   Khelo India has been a game changer. In fact, Khelo India Games have become like the mini-Olympics of India. The incentive of being recognised at the national level has given the impetus to not only the young athletes but also the individual States to develop their own robust sporting infrastructure. Apart from the development of an overall sports culture in the country, the personal interest that the Prime Minister takes in knowing every athlete and their progress is also something that was never seen before in our country. He makes it a point to interact with the Indian contingent before the final send off and after an international tournament/sporting event and motivate and congratulate them on their success or sincere efforts.  The Prime Minister also talks a lot about sports in his monthly radio programme, ‘Mann ki Baat’. In the past, the newspaper was the only medium to get any information about the spor ...