Among the many athletes current had been India’s youngest Olympic medallist Aman Sehrawat, shooters Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh, Swapnil Kusale, and members of the Indian males’s hockey workforce.PM Modi shook palms with the gamers and clicked footage with them to commemorate the occasion.
“To begin with, take away the thought out of your thoughts that you’ve got returned to India after shedding the Olympics. You’ve got returned with the nation’s flag held excessive. You’ve got additionally gained some precious expertise, and sports activities is the one subject, my pals, the place nobody ever actually loses; everybody learns,” mentioned PM Modi throughout a dialog with the sportspersons.
The PM requested the athletes about their experiences off the sector, encouraging them to share what they discovered and whom they met on the Video games. “The world has seen what you probably did on the sector. Now, inform me what you probably did off the sector. You could have made pals with athletes from world wide and discovered quite a bit,” he mentioned. “Possibly you thought, it will be nice if we additionally had one thing like this in our nation as properly,” he added.
The Indian males’s hockey workforce, bronze medalists in Tokyo, achieved back-to-back Olympic podium finishes for the primary time in 52 years by defeating Spain 2-1 within the bronze medal playoff. This victory marked India’s record-extending thirteenth Olympic hockey medal.
Athletes battled hovering temperatures and lack of cooling of their rooms in Paris Olympic Video games Village. Remarking on the frustration the athletes should have felt, PM Modi mentioned, “AC milgya tha na! You could have mentioned in anger that Modi makes tall claims however has left us on this condititon. After I came upon concerning the circumstances, I ensured ACs had been supplied inside half-an-hour.” The athletes had been supplied with 40 moveable air conditioners by the nation’s sports activities ministry to make their keep snug.
PM Modi requested hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh when precisely he took the choice to retire. “I had been interested by it for some years. My workforce members used to tease me, ‘Bhai kab jayega‘ (When will you ever go away!),” Sreejesh laughed.
“I’ve been taking part in for 20 years and needed to retire after attaining one thing. Olympics is one such platform that’s celebrated by all athletes on the earth and I assumed I can’t get a greater alternative than this. Once we misplaced the semifinal, the workforce got here collectively and mentioned that we have now to win this bronze for Sreejesh bhai. I used that podium to say goodbye to not simply my profession but in addition my workforce,” he mentioned.
“Your workforce will certainly miss you however additionally they ensured a grand farewell for you,” responded PM Modi.
In a gesture of appreciation, Sreejesh, captain Harmanpreet Singh, and others introduced India jerseys and a hockey follow the PM.
Lakshya Sen, a distinguished badminton participant, shared particulars with PM Modi of his coaching with coach Prakash Padukone, revealing a strict routine through the Olympics to enhance his focus.
“Prakash Sir took my telephone through the matches on the Olympics and mentioned that you’ll not get it until the top of the match. Lots of people supported me all through the journey. I had an amazing working expertise in Paris. It was slightly bit heart-breaking as I got here such shut of profitable a medal however was unable to win it. I’ll attempt to do higher sooner or later,” the shuttler mentioned.
A complete of 117 Indian athletes competed in 16 sports activities on the Paris Olympics, together with archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, equestrian, golf, hockey, judo, rowing, crusing, capturing, swimming, wrestling, desk tennis, and tennis. India clinched one silver and 5 bronze medals on the Video games. They fell simply shy of their finest haul of seven medals on the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
“Once we are sitting in the back of a automobile and we all know how you can drive, we press our ft though the driving force will press the brakes. The identical approach when athletes would compete in Olympics, spectators would mirror their fidgety nervousness,” mentioned PM Modi in one in every of his interactions.
Manu Bhaker made historical past by changing into the primary Indian girl to win a capturing medal on the Olympics and the primary from India within the post-Independence period to win a number of medals in a single version. She and her companion Sarabjot Singh turned the primary Indian capturing pair to win an Olympic medal collectively, bringing India’s tally in capturing to 6.
Swapnil Kusale secured a bronze medal within the males’s 50m rifle 3 positions, changing into the third Indian shooter to win a medal on the Paris Olympics. Kusale’s medal set a brand new document for India’s highest medal tally in a single sport on the Olympics and marked the nation’s first-ever medal within the 50m rifle 3 positions occasion.
Neeraj Chopra gained a silver medal in javelin with a throw of 89.45m, behind Arshad Nadeem, who set a brand new Olympic document with a throw of 92.97m. Chopra’s silver medal is just the second for India in athletics on the Summer time Video games, with each medals earned by him. Neeraj turned the third two-time Olympic medallist from India, including to his gold from the Tokyo 2020 Video games. Sushil Kumar and PV Sindhu are the opposite Indian athletes to have gained two Olympic medals in successive editions.
