PM’s address at an interaction with athletes who represented India in Asian Games 2022
Speaker: Narendra Modi
Date: 01 Nov, 2023

Friends, I keep waiting and looking for opportunities to meet all of you, interact with you, and hear out your experiences. And I have seen that every time you come here with a new zeal and enthusiasm. And this itself becomes a huge inspiration. So, first of all, I am with you all for only one purpose, and that is to congratulate you all. You all were outside Bharat, playing in China, but perhaps you might not know that I was also with you. I was living every moment of your actions, your efforts, your confidence, right from here. The way you all have enhanced the glory of the country is truly unprecedented. And for that, merely congratulating you, your coaches and your family members is not enough. And on behalf of the countrymen, I congratulate you all from the bottom of my heart for this historic success. Friends, You all know very well that the sports field is always extremely competitive. You compete with each other in every game, and give each other tough competition. But I know that there is a battle going on inside you too. You compete with yourself every day. You have to fight with yourself, face the struggles, and have the self-talk again and again. Sometimes you might have noticed that you don’t feel like waking up in the morning, but something within you nudges you and a gush of energy wakes you up and fills you with agility. Even if you don’t feel like doing the training, you still do it, and even if everyone goes back home from the training centre, sometimes you have to sweat a few extra hours and work harder. And as they say, pure gold does not fear the flame. In the same way you all have faced hardships to shine bright. All the people here who were selected for this game, some have come back winning, some have come back learning from there. Not even a single one of you has come back losing anything. And I have a very simple definition. There are only two outcomes of any game – winning and learning. There is no losing or defeat. When I was talking to you all, some were saying that this time they could not perform up to the mark. Never mind, we will do better next time. That means when a person comes back after learning, he comes back with a new conviction. There are many who participated in this game; some might have participated for the first time. But your selection out of 140 crore countrymen is also a victory in itself. You have become stronger after facing so many challenges. And your result is not just a matter of statistics, but every countryman is feeling proud. A new confidence fills the country. You have not only broken the previous records, but in some of the fields you have gone far beyond breaking those records, so much so that some people might not be able to reach that spot for the next two-three games. That’s the situation that you have created! And you have returned home with 111 medals – 111! This is not a small figure. I still remember when I was new to politics and worked in the organization of the party. During the Lok Sabha elections, we contested 12 seats and won 12 out of 12 in Gujarat. So, after we won, we came to Delhi, and it was a surprise for me. At that time, our leader was Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji. He hugged me and asked me, ‘do you know what it means to win all the twelve out of the twelve seats?’ He said, there was a time when we could hardly win 12 seats in the entire country. But you have won twelve seats in just one state. Despite winning twelve seats, I didn’t have that realization until Atal ji told me. So let me say this for you too. These 111 victories are not just a number. These are 140 crore dreams. This is 3 times more than the number of medals Bharat won in the Asian Para Games in 2014. This time we have got almost 10 times more gold medals than in 2014. In 2014, we were at 15th place in overall performance, but this time you all have brought the country among the top five. The country reached fifth place from the 10th spot in the world in terms of economic growth in the last nine years. And today you have also brought the country to the fifth spot from the tenth spot. All this is the result of your hard work and hence I extend my heartiest congratulations to you all! Friends, The last few months have been amazing for sports in Bharat. And your success in that is like icing on the cake. In the month of August, we got the gold medal in the World Athletics Championship in Budapest. Bharat’s Badminton Men’s Doubles Team won its first gold at the Asian Games. Bharat’s first women’s doubles pair won table tennis medal in Asian Games. Indian Men’s Badminton Team created history by winning the 2022 Thomas Cup. Our athletes gave the best performance in history at the Asian Games, winning a total of 107 medals including 28 gold medals. And you have given your best performance so far in the Asian Para Games. Friends, The whole country is excited to see your performance. And let me tell you friends, in other games when a player brings a medal, he or she becomes a big inspiration and a cause of enthusiasm for the world of sports, the players, and new players. But when a Divyang (specially-abled person) comes out victorious, he or she becomes an inspiration not only in the sports world but in every area of life. A person filled with despair, after seeing his success, gets up and thinks – ‘God has given me everything; he has given me hands, legs, brain, eyes. Despite certain limitations, he is doing wonders but I am still in my slumber’. So, he stands up. Your success becomes a great inspiration for him. So, when you are successful, when someone sees you playing, it is not limited to just the world of sports, it becomes a source of inspiration for everyone in every walk of life. And you, my friends, are doing that task of inspiring. Friends, We all are seeing the progress of Bharat in the form of Sporting Culture and Sporting Society day by day. There is another reason due to which Bharat has gained confidence to move forward. Now we are trying to organize the 2030 Youth Olympics and the Olympic Games of 2036. Friends, You know very well that there are no shortcuts in sports. Hard work on the part of a sports person cannot be done by anyone else; you have to do it yourself. In the world of sports, the sports person has to do all the hard work himself/herself. There is no proxy. Players have to handle all the pressure of the game themselves. Your patience and hard work are most useful. Every person can do a lot with his own strength. When he gets someone’s support, his strength increases manifold. Family, society, institutions and other supporting ecosystems encourage players to reach new heights. The more they all come together to support our players, the better it will be for them. Now families are giving more support to their children to pursue sports. After getting some opportunities, some of you may have got a little encouragement from home. But before that, families used to be sometimes over-protective of you; what if you get hurt, then who would look after you? They didn’t want to let you go and insisted on staying at home. Many have gone through it. Nowadays I see that every family is encouraging children to move forward in this field as well. It is a big thing for this new culture to emerge in the country. If we talk about society, there has been a major change in the people. Now you too must have seen that if you are into sports, people have a notion that you don’t study. If you say, “I have won a medal”. They will say, “So is this what you do? Don’t you study? How will you earn a living?” They used to ask these questions before. But now they say, “how wonderful that you have won a medal! Let me touch it once”. This is the change now. Friends, At that time, if someone was into sports, he was not considered settled. He was asked – ‘But what will you do to settle down?’ But now the society is also accepting sports as a profession. Friends, Speaking of the government, earlier it was said that the players are for the government. But now it is said that the government is completely for the players. When the government and policy makers are connected to the ground, when the government is concerned about the interests of the players, when the government understands the struggles of the players and their dreams, then its direct impact is visible in the policies and the approach of the government. It is visible even in the thinking. We had excellent players in the country even before, but there were no policies to support them. No good coaching system, modern infrastructure or necessary financial support existed. In such a scenario, how could our players wave their flags? In the last 9 years, the country has come out of that old thinking and old system. Today, there are many such players in the country on whom Rs 4-5 crore are being spent. The government’s approach is now Athlete Centric. The government is now removing obstacles from the paths of the athletes and creating opportunities. It is said, Potential+Platform=Performance. When the potential gets the right platform, the performance becomes even better. Schemes like ‘Khelo India’ have become such a platform for the players, which has opened the path to search for athletes and support our athletes at the grassroots level. Many of you may be aware of how the TOPS Initiative is helping our athletes improve their performance. To help Para Athletes, we have also established a Disability Sports Training Centre in Gwalior. And those of you who are familiar with Gujarat will know that the first attempt to enter this field had started from Gujarat. And gradually a whole culture developed. Even today, there are many of you who probably go there for training, and undergo training in those institutes of Gandhinagar. That means, when all the institutions start taking a shape in the beginning, their strength is not known. But when there is continuous practice and training, the country starts experiencing its power. I believe that with all these facilities, the country is going to get many more winners like you. I have complete confidence. Friends, I have already said that no one has lost in your group of more than 300 people. And my mantra is, I repeat, some have won while some have learnt. You should look at yourself and your legacy more than the medals, because that is more important. The difficulties you faced and the way you showed your strength to overcome them, is your greatest contribution to this country. Many of you have come here from small towns, humble backgrounds and difficult circumstances. Many people have faced physical problems since birth; many have lived in remote villages; some have met with an accident that has changed their entire life; but you are still steadfast. Look at your success on social media. Perhaps no sport gets as much popularity and fame these days as you do. Everyone, who perhaps has no knowledge of the game, is also watching. They think, ‘This child is performing so well, despite physical challenges’. People are watching you and showing it to their children at their homes. Stories of your lives, of the sons and daughters of villages, and the small towns, are being discussed today in schools, colleges, homes, playgrounds, everywhere. Your struggle and this success are weaving a new dream in their minds too. Whatever may be the circumstances today, people are thinking big and seeking great inspiration. The desires to become great are growing in them. Your participation in every tournament is the victory of human dreams. And this is your greatest legacy. And that is why I am confident that you will work hard like this and keep making the country proud. Our government is with you; the country is with you. And friends, determination has great power. If you have pessimistic thinking, neither can you move on in the world, nor can you achieve anything. For example, if someone says, ‘Go to Rohtak from here’. Then some would think 50 times before deciding, whether they would get a bus or not, whether they would get a train or not, how would they go, what would they do. Whereas some people are instantly ready! ‘Okay I have to go to Rohtak, then I will go in the evening’. Such people don’t think, but show their courage. There is a power in positive mindset. And resolving ‘Sau Ke Paar’ doesn’t happen just like that. There is a distant thinking behind it; there is a record of complete hard work and moving ahead with confidence and determination. Then only we say ‘Iss baar Sau Paar’ (this time 100+ medals). But then we did not stop at 101. We took the tally to 111. Friends, this is my track record and that is why I say that we are the ones who have helped the country to become the fifth largest economy from the tenth and I can say with complete confidence that we will reach number three in the same decade. On the same basis, I can say that in 2047 this country will become a developed Bharat. If my Divyang people can fulfil their dreams, then the power of 140 crore will not leave even a single dream unfulfilled, this is my belief. Friends, I congratulate you from the bottom of my heart, and extend my best wishes! But we should not stop here. Let’s move on with new resolutions and new confidence. Let every morning become a new dawn! That’s when we achieve our goals, friends. Thank you very much, best wishes!