Tokyo Olympics: Confident that our athletes will perform well, says Anurag Thakur
Jul 22, 2021
New Delhi [India], July 22 : Just one day before the start of the Tokyo Olympics, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur on Thursday said he is confident of a good show by the Indian athletes at the Games.
On Wednesday, Anurag started a new initiative #HumaraVictoryPunch to boost the morale of Indian athletes in the Olympics.
The Tokyo Olympics will begin on Friday and the event will run up to August 8. The Olympic Games were to be held last year but were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We cannot participate in the Olympics but we can join the campaign to motivate the athletes. We have the biggest contingent going into the Olympics to date," said Thakur in a virtual press briefing.
"The athletes have qualified for Olympics with dedication and determination. We have started a new initiative #HumaraVictoryPunch boost the morale of Indian athletes and we want everyone to join us," he added.
Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with the Indian athletes bound for Tokyo Olympics. And recently, PM Modi had discussed the inspirational journeys of some of the athletes on Mann Ki Baat, besides urging the nation to come forward and wholeheartedly support them.
"TOPS programme ensured athletes get ample resources to train. We are confident that our athletes will perform well. Prime Minister Narendra Modi too motivated the players last week during an interaction," said Thakur.
A total of 127 athletes across 18 sports disciplines from India are participating in Olympics. This is the biggest-ever contingent India is sending to any Olympics. The 69 cumulative events across the 18 sport disciplines that India will participate in are also the highest ever for the country.
