Kiren Rijiju English news | Kiren Rijiju, Latest News & Live Updates in English | English News (Latest English News) at Lokmattimes.com

Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, has reiterated that India's Olympic-bound athletes are national heroes and he also urged the people to extend support to these players in the same way they follow cricketers in the country.Rijiju was speaking at a virtual interaction organised by CII-Sportscom Industry Confederation in partnership with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to create awareness regarding India's preparation for Tokyo 2021 Olympics and Paralympics.Announcing a Cheer Up Campaign across the country, the Union Sports Minister said over 6,000 selfie points will be set up where people can show their support. "I have spoken to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and he immediately deployed space across 6,000 railway stations across the country where Olympics Selfie Points have been set up. The Chief Minister of Haryana has also clicked a selfie photograph with the symbol to encourage others to join the campaign and encourage the Tokyo-bound players.""I wanted the Olympics movement and the importance of Olympics to be understood by everyone, spread across the length and breadth of India. Sports is the biggest soft power of a nation," he added.The number of Indian athletes participating in the Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games has seen a steady rise in the past three editions. Over 100 athletes have already made the cut so far and many more are expected to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. The Sports Minister also emphasised on the role that the government has played along with federations and players in creating a conducive atmosphere for the sportspersons to strive for excellence.Speaking during the interaction, former hockey international MM Somaya appreciated the government's role in supporting the federations with regards to coaching and other facilities. "We have some of the world's best coaches involved with hockey these days and our boys and girls are in good hands," he said, adding that he was hopeful that India could challenge for a medal in Tokyo.Chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand spoke about how the athletes were more confident in their abilities than their compatriots in the past and underlined the role of the government in making this change possible. "Today I can confidently say that every member of the team is training to be in their best form and possibly win a medal and if they don't have a medal or have good performances, I am sure they are going to be very disappointed."( With inputs from ANI )Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Kiren RijijuFOLLOW

Kiren rijiju, Latest News

Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, on Wednesday said he spoke to sprinter Hima Das and told her not to lose heart on missing the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. ...

Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, on Tuesday praised long jumper Shaili Singh and said she has a great future ahead of her as she is following in the footsteps of Anju Bobby George. ...

Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports on Sunday said that the Indian Olympic contingent is heading to Tokyo to win, not just for token presence. ...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged the nation to come forward and support all the athletes who would be heading to the Tokyo Olympics to make the country proud. ...

After clinching a gold medal in the Archery World Cup Stage three, India's Abhishek Verma said that he is glad to make the country proud. ...

Sajan Prakash on Saturday became the first Indian swimmer to qualify for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. ...

New Delhi, June 26 Union sports minister Kiren Rijiju said on Saturday that India's Olympic-bound athletes are national ... ...

Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, has reiterated that India's Olympic-bound athletes are national heroes and he also urged the people to extend support to these players in the same way they follow cricketers in the countr ...