Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday extended his best wishes to the Indian contingent participating in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and lauded the recent achievements of Indian athletes, highlighting victories in badminton, women’s cricket and other sporting disciplines.
Addressing the 136th episode of his monthly radio programme, Mann Ki Baat, the Prime Minister wished success for Indian athletes competing at the Games.
“The Commonwealth Games began in Glasgow, just a few days ago. Every Indian is constantly extending one’s best wishes to the Indian contingent. It is their wish that all players and athletes perform exceptionally well and win the hearts of the people,” he said.
Highlighting India’s recent sporting successes, PM Modi said the country’s youth have delivered remarkable performances on the global stage.
“Our youth have achieved remarkable feats in sports recently. PV Sindhu has become the first Indian to win the Japan Open title in badminton; the entire nation is proud of this achievement of hers,” he said.
The Prime Minister also praised the Indian women’s cricket team for scripting history with a landmark Test victory at Lord’s.
“The Indian women’s cricket team also won its first-ever Test match at the Lords Stadium in London. This is a historic victory; our team won the match by a massive margin of 270 runs,” he said.
Emphasising the significance of the achievement, PM Modi noted that it marked another milestone in the history of the iconic cricket venue.
“But that is not all – in the long history of Lord’s, this was the first Test match played by a women’s team. It was on this very ground that India won her first Cricket World Cup in 1983. Now, our ‘Nari Shakti’ has brought glory to the nation there,” the Prime Minister said.
PM Modi also drew attention to an innovative initiative from South Chittoor in Kerala’s Ernakulam district, where a school is using football to make Sanskrit learning more engaging.
“There are also small initiatives that hold great significance. I learned about one such sports-related initiative in South Chittoor, Ernakulam, Keralam. A school there has a Sanskrit club where a teacher, Abhilash ji, is popularizing Sanskrit in a unique way.”
Explaining the initiative, he said, “This project has been named ‘Aksharakanduk’; it explains Sanskrit letters in a simple manner by linking them to terms used in football. This makes learning enjoyable while also fostering a deeper connection between people and sports.”
The Prime Minister said such creative efforts demonstrate how sports can become a medium for education and cultural enrichment while encouraging greater participation among young people.
