CHENNAI: Sports minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday expressed his dream of making India a top contender in the Olympics medal tally and wanted it to finish in Top 10 in the 2028 Los Angeles Games. “Although we have achieved some success in hockey and a few individual sports, we have not been able to make any successful impact in Olympic history. In days to come, I want to ensure that not only our participation
but our success rate also soars,” said Rijiju during an online chat series hosted by young Indian table tennis player Mudit Dani.
"So the target is to make India as one of the Top 10 Olympic nations by 2028. This is the target I have set and with the Indian Olympic Association and all national sports federations, we have worked out certain plans and strategies," added Rijiju. The minister said keeping this goal in mind, the government has
already introduced several programmes like the Khelo India Games and Fit India movement.
He also emphasised the importance of being ‘atmanirbhar’ (self-reliant) in the sporting ecosystem and felt the country needs to develop a successful league culture to make sport as a sustainable career opportunity. “You have to be empowered to take care of yourself. The country has to be self-reliant. Whenever there are challenges, disasters or catastrophes, we need to ensure we emerge stronger. I have to ensure our athletes and coaches become stronger after lockdown,” Rijiju said.
The minister further said steps should be taken to make leagues successful in order to ensure viable and fruitful sporting careers for athletes at all levels.
“First of all, sport is a way of life but that is not enough. Sport has to be a career also. Sport has to give you respect, position, earning, comfort and recognition. So for that when you have a flourishing league system in the country —whether it is national or state level, it has to be successful. And to make the leagues successful, it has to be commercially viable and successful too. That is why I am encouraging lots of leagues like our Indian Super League (football), Indian Premier League (cricket),” he said.