India achieved unprecedented success at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, winning a record number of medals. In an exclusive to Sportstar, in New Delhi, Anurag Thakur, the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, talks about his Ministry’s plans to use technology, and host more international events in India to help the country’s athletes in their quest to seek more glory at the world stage. Excerpts:
Top athletes like Neeraj Chopra have suggested the need for regular top-class international meets in the country to generate interest. Can we expect India to hold Diamond League and events of such quality soon?
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports backs the National Sports Federations (NSF) in the conduct of international competitions in the country. We are encouraging SAI and NSFs to develop professional capabilities to spearhead major sporting properties here in India. The Indian Open Badminton tournament and the India Open Boxing tournament are good examples. We are also hosting the International Chess Olympiad for the first time and we organised the Torch Relay for the Olympiad for the first time in the event’s history, which is a huge milestone. In October, we will also be hosting the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup after the huge success of the men’s edition in 2017. India has enough world-class infrastructure facilities to host events of international standards, and in the next few years we plan to become a destination for hosting such events.
