New Delhi, Sept 5:Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday congratulated India’s medal-winners in the recently-concluded Asian Games and asked them to strive harder in tougher competitions like the Olympics.
Complimenting the athletes during an interaction at his residence, the Prime Minister said their exemplary performance has raised India’s stature and pride.
India won a record medal haul at the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, by bagging 69 medals, beating the previous best of 65 won at the Guangzhou Asiad in 2010.
“The PM expressed hope that the medal winners will remain grounded and would not lose focus due to fame and accolades,” read a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.
“PM Modi urged the sportspersons not to rest on the laurels achieved and asked them to strive harder for greater glory. He said that the biggest challenge for the medal winners will start now and they should never lose their goal of being in the Olympic Games podium.”
Modi expressed happiness on seeing young talent rise from small towns, rural areas and from poor background.
“There is real potential in the rural areas and we should continue nurturing those talents. The outside world is unaware of the day-to-day struggles a sportsperson has to go through,” he said.
The Prime Minister urged the sportspersons to use technology as an aid to improve their performance.
He said sportspersons should continue improving by using technology-aided critical analysis of their performance as well as those of top players in the world.
“Prime Minister got emotional while mentioning the names of some sportspersons who had to go through immense hardships to be a medal winner for the nation. He saluted their grit and dedication to their disciplines and hoped that the rest of the country would get inspired from their efforts,” the release stated.
Later in the day, Modi took to social media to speak more about his meeting with the medal winners.
“Delighted to meet our talented Table Tennis players. In a sport that needs great precision and reflexes, this wonderful team brought home two bronze medals and made India proud. Best wishes to all the players for a bright future,” he said of the two unexpected medals in the racket sport, ending a 60-year wait.
India also won medals in lesser known sports like kurash and wushu.
“Delighted to meet and congratulate the Indian Wushu contingent for their excellent feats at the Asian Games. They trained hard, competed even harder, and brought home four Bronze medals. May they find sustained success in their future endeavours,” wrote Modi.
On Pincky Balhara and Malaprabha Jadhav winning silver and bronze in kurash, Modi added: “A new sport at the Asian Games but India shines with two medals! Our athletes won a Silver and Bronze in the Kurash events. Met them and heard their experiences.” (PTI)
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