Harping on India’s recent successes in the international sporting arena and how sports brought the world together during the century’s biggest pandemic, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated the FIDE 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai, declaring, “In sports there are no losers. There are winners and there are future winners.”
Noting that the most prestigious tournament in chess had for the first time come to India – the home of chess – during the 75th year of freedom from colonial rule, Mr. Modi said there had never been a better time for sport in India than the present. The country had its best ever performances in the Olympics, Paralympics and Deaflympics.
“We achieved glory even in sports where we had not won earlier. Today sports is seen as a great profession of choice. India’s sporting culture is becoming stronger due to the perfect mix of two important factors – energy of youth and enabling environment,” he said. The Prime Minister noted talented youngsters, especially from small towns and villages, are bringing glory and it was heartening to see women at the lead of India’s sports revolution. He credited administrative framework, incentive structure and infrastructure for this.
