Kiren Rijiju, Minister of Sports sets top-10 Olympics medal-tally deadline for India

Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju on November 15, said India is fast emerging as a 'sporting powerhouse' and further asserted that it is his dream to the country feature among top-ten nations in the 2028 Olympics. A conference of Ministers and Secretaries of the States and Union Territories in charge of Youth Affairs and Sports was held in New Delhi on November 15. In his inaugural address at the conference, Rijiju called for collective efforts of the Centre and the states in making India a fit nation and encouraging the sporting culture in the country.

"India is emerging fast as a sporting powerhouse. Every player comes from a state. Some states are playing a very pro-active role when it comes to sports, priority should be given. We have a dream that India finishes in top-ten of the medal tally in 2028 Olympics," Rijiju said.

"We should think of a target, winning one-two medals won't work. We are a big nation, we have to go aggressively and all governments must give priority to this. If you win medals, you celebrate. But what about those who do not win medals? How will we create a sports culture in the country? We must decide how important it is to take part in different sports. We have to create a sports culture," he added.

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Rijiju on Fit India Movement

Furthermore, the Sports Minister hailed the 'Khelo India' and 'Fit India Programme' initiatives by PM Modi and said the programs have started yielding results.

"PM Modi has launched a few big programs. Among those, one is Fit India. Wherever I go, everybody is talking about fitness. The young population must be fit, but our rating in the World Fitness Index is not very encouraging. Fit India Movement should become a citizen's movement, and it will become that when every state government adopts it," Rijiju said.

He also said that the Fit India Movement launched by PM Modi aims to make fitness an integral part of the daily life of Indians, by encouraging them to participate in Fitness events/activities. He said that the Prime Minister has already directed all central ministries to make Fit India a part of their programs. Additionally, he also mentioned that the fittest town, city, school, etc will also be identified and rewarded.

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