In his latest Mann Ki Baat on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi struck an emotional chord, recalling his last telephone call to legendary athlete Milkha Singh in hospital just a few days before the former Olympian died.
“Some days ago, Corona snatched him away from us. When he was in hospital, I got an opportunity to talk to him. While talking to him I had urged him. I had said that you have represented India in 1964 Tokyo Olympics, so this time when our players are going to Olympics in Tokyo, you have to boost the morale of our athletes, have to motivate them with your message,” the Prime Minister said.
“He was so committed and emotional for sports that he immediately gave his consent even during his illness. But unfortunately, providence had other plans,” the PM lamented.
“I still remember he had come to Surat in 2014. We had inaugurated a Night Marathon. The interaction that I had with him then, the chat about sports that happened, that inspired me a lot too. We all know that the entire family of Milkha Singh has been dedicated to sports…. has been adding to the glory of India,” PM Modi pointed out.
He said it is when Talent, Dedication, Determination and Sportsman Spirit come together only then a champion is made. In our country most of the sportspersons hail from the smaller towns and villages.
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The Prime Minister highlighted the personal hardships at the family level that some of the current lot of India’s Tokyo-bound athletes had overcome to qualify for the Olympic Games.
“Our team that is going to Tokyo, too, has many such players whose life inspires a lot. When you hear about our Praveen Jadhav ji , then you too will feel… how many difficulties Praveen has gone through to reach here. Praveen hails from a village in Satara district of Maharashtra. He is very good at Archery. His parents run the family by working as labourers and now their son is going to participate in his first Olympics at Tokyo. This is a matter of great pride not only for his parents but for all of us,” PM Modi said.
Similarly, Neha Goyal ji a member of the women’s hockey team going to Tokyo has been supported by her mother and sisters who work in a cycle factory. Like Neha, Deepika Kumari ji’s life too has been full of ups and downs. Deepika’s father drives an auto rickshaw and her mother is a nurse. Our best wishes are with Deepika, once ranked world's number one archer, he added.
Walker Priyanka Goswami, Javelin thrower Shivpal Singh, Chirag Shetty and Satwik Sairaj and Manish Kaushik were the other athletes he mentioned while extending his best wishes to the entire Olympic squad and exhorting the country to #Cheer4India on social media.
