On National Sports Day, the birthday of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand, Olympic bronze medallist shooter Sarabjot Singh remembered a motivational interaction with the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. This motivated him to further aspire for a higher medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
It was Sarabjot who won the bronze medal in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event in combination with Manu Bhaker. Again, Sarabjot blamed the interaction between PM Modi and the athletes ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. According to Sarabjot, the pre-Olympic meeting with Modi was so energizing that he left the meet with "goosebumps" and an aggressive drive to secure a medal for India.
The victory brought Sarabjot the personal congratulatory words from the Prime Minister of India. "The words by the Prime Minister justified all my efforts and motivated me to achieve nothing less than gold in Los Angeles," he says.
Sarabjot also acknowledged the great support provided during training due to the Khelo India scheme. "It is as easy as sending an email to seek assistance, and it's sanctioned. Our training in Luxembourg prior to Olympics, facilitated through TOPS scheme, helped in important ways," he mentioned.
One can only hope that this New Year will bring greater achievements and glory to the country from its sportspersons. If one recalls, PM Modi earlier extended one's best wishes to athletes across the nation and said their government shall continue striving to encourage sports and its various activities among youngsters across all levels.
On X, PM Modi extended National Sports Day greetings to mark the birthday of the legendary Major Dhyan Chand, while celebrating those committed to sports: "Our government remains steadfast in our commitment to support sports and ensure that more youth have the opportunity to excel," he added.
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