Anurag Thakur urges coaches to give best to bring forth athletes of Olympian standards

Following India’s best ever outings at the Tokyo Olympics and Tokyo Paralympics, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Thakur has now urged the coaches in the country to give their best. The minister on Sunday said that the future of Indian sports lies in the hands of coaches. Thakur was speaking at the Netaji Subhas Southern Centre, Sports Authority of India in Bengaluru on the occasion of Teachers' Day.

Sports Minister urges coaches to polish the athletes to Olympian standards

Participating in the Teachers' Day celebrations of the 58th Batch of NIS Diploma in sports coaching, Thakur urged the coaches to polish the athletes to Olympian standards. "Future of India's Sports lies in the hands of Coaches; On the occasion of Teachers' Day, let's resolve to nurture and polish athletes with best of training and ensure they bring forth star athletes of Olympian standards," the minister said. Thakur further reiterated the Central government's renewed focus on sports and promised to aim for better results.

According to the official release, over 160 athletes are currently undergoing high-performance training at the SAI Bangalore Centre in five disciplines. These athletes are placed under the National Centres of Excellence (NCOE) scheme. Apart from the athletes, there are 168 trainee coaches doing diploma courses in Sports Coaching spread across 9 disciplines.

"SAI is also emphasising on the sports sciences support in the high-performance training wherein a battery of young sports scientists has recently been inducted to support the training processes with modern scientific approach and the latest research,” the official release said. Thakur was welcomed by DG, SAI, Sandip Pradhan and Ritu Pathik, Regional Director, SAI, Bengaluru Centre, to the event. The sports minister’s office also informed that Thakur also discussed topics related to the development of sports after meeting with the officials there.

Thakur lauds the government's efforts to promote sportspersons

Anurag Thakur, who is currently on a visit to Bengaluru to participate in a series of events, said that the public perception towards sports in the country has changed. The Sports Minister, while interacting with the media on Sunday, stated that the government is providing the right momentum to the sportspersons and thus, India has manifested an impressive performance in the Tokyo Paralympics and Tokyo Olympics. "The biggest thing is the changing attitude towards sports. When the government is giving all sorts of facilities, and when Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself speaks to the sportspersons and encourages them, it has an impact on every section of the society, whether it be individual, corporate, sports associations or any other organisation," Thakur said.   

(With ANI inputs)

(IMAGE: TWITTER)