TOKYO: Tokyo Olympics silver medalist, Mirabai Chanu has stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi helped her a lot to reach the Games after recovering from injury.
"It's true that Prime Minister Narendra Modi helped me reach Tokyo 2020 Olympics after my injury. They booked the ticket for the flight in one day for the US to help me train there and undergo rehabilitation," Mirabai Chanu told ANI. "Sir has given me huge support for the training," added Chanu.
Earlier on Friday, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh revealed that PM Modi had intervened to help two of the athletes to get better medical care and training in the US before the Tokyo Olympics.
Singh is in Delhi to seek 'blessings' from the top leadership including the Prime Minister and also to seek financial assistance for various infrastructure-related projects in the state ahead of assembly polls.
Speaking to ANI, the Manipur Chief Minister said when he had met the Prime Minister this week, he thanked him for helping weightlifter Mirabai Chanu.
He then narrated what Chanu had told him at a public function, meant to felicitate her, about the help she had received from the Prime Minister's Office.
"I was surprised at her revelation about the help she had received from the Prime Minister. She disclosed that if she wasn't given an opportunity to go to the US for her muscle operation and practice, she wouldn't be able to achieve this goal. She narrated how PM Modi helped her directly. The Prime Minister helped the athlete and micromanaged the issue. People of Manipur were overjoyed to know how PM Modi helped her," said Singh. He thanked PM Modi when the two met recently.