India is proud of Haryana players: Amit Shah

Panchkula: Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the entire country is proud of the players of Haryana and it is a matter of joy for Haryana that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given the opportunity of hosting the 4th Khelo India Youth Games to Haryana, which is called the Sports Capital of the nation.
Khelo India has given a huge platform to the players across the country, he said while speaking at the launch of the 4th Khelo India Youth Games at Tau Devi Lal Stadium here on Saturday.
He said that any youth who studies in school or college can participate in Khelo India. If a player performs well, then no one can stop him or her from going to the national and international level. He said that many sportspersons like Virendra Singh, Sandeep Singh, Sardar Singh, Rani Rampal, Ramesh Kumar have emerged from the soil of Haryana, who have worked for India to get medals.
Shah said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has worked to take India forward in every field including the field of Sports. Today, there has been a lot of development in the infrastructure of sports. Along with this, sports federations have been strengthened. Today there is transparency in the selection process of players. Apart from this, better training is also being imparted to them. Players are getting various facilities and assistance. These efforts of the Prime Minister have started yielding results.
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has increased the sports budget for sportspersons. The budget for sports was Rs 866 crore in 2014, it has been increased to Rs 1,993 crore in 2022. Its results are now clearly visible. In the Olympic Games, where India won only 2 medals in 2016, 7 medals were won in 2021. Similarly, India won only 4 medals in Paralympics in 2014, which increased to 19 medals in 2021.
He said that India won 15 medals in Commonwealth Games in 2014, which increased to 26 in 2018. Similarly, 57 medals were won by india in Asian Games in 2014, which increased to 70 medals in 2018. India has won gold medal in Thomas Cup for the first time.
The Union Minister exhorted the players and said that bathers with water only change their clothes while those who bathe with sweat change history. He repeated the famous lines of boxer Mohammad Ali saying that I used to hate every minute of training but I told myself don’t give up, endure now and live the rest of life like a champion. He advised the players to work hard as much as possible.
He said that Khelo India matches are being held in 5 cities of Haryana. Best wishes to all the players that they make their bright future by creating national records. Get gold medal for the country at international level. “I am sure that the day is not far when India will appear in the top five countries in the medal tally at the Olympics,” he said. (UNI)