Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur graced the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports in Patiala with his presence today. He was welcomed by Senior Executive Director, Col Raj Singh Bishnoi and other dignitaries from NIS.  He interacted with the Asian Games bound athletes of Boxing, Athletics and Kabbadi, besides inaugurating a number of renovation projects aimed at strengthening of sports infrastructure.

"During the tenure of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, NSNIS Patiala has received crores of rupees for sports development in the last 1 year. Development projects worth 13 crores have been inaugurated today." he said.

Union Minister inaugurated the projects worth Rs. 13 Crores, which included state-of-the-art Weightlifting Hall, Fitness centre, modern hostels and Guest House. The president of Indian Weight Lifting Federation Mr. Sehdev Yadav was also present during the inauguration.

The newly renovated weightlifting hall has facilities of 26 training stations, modern equipments and all other ancillary facilities for a world class training centre. The fitness center is equipped with world-class Strength and Conditioning and Physiotherapy equipments along with facilities of steam, sauna bath, hydropool and massage therapy. Silver Jubilee Hostel is aimed to provide best residential facilities to our elite athletes and participants of multinational camps. Golden Jubilee flats or foreign coaches Hostel has been renovated and furnished for elite foreign coaches and NIS guest house is upgraded with modern facilities.

In an informal interaction, Minister discussed with athletes about their Asian games preparations and imparted motivation to refine their skills and mental resilience for the upcoming Asian Games. He discussed about any logistic issues faced by athletes during preparations. The athletes showed immense satisfaction towards the upgraded facilities and infrastructure. Minister expressed great faith in India’s capability of achieving new heights in Asian games medal tally this year. 

Mr. Thakur said, "For the past few years, India has done exceptionally well in all sports. Today our sportspersons are bringing laurels to India on the world stage. I have full faith that India will do exceptionally well in the medal tally in the upcoming Asian Games also."

The Minister's engagement with the athletes infused new energy and determination into their preparations, as they strive to make the nation proud.

Earlier this day, the Union minister handed over letters of appointment at the Rozgar Mela in IISER Mohali.

The visit of Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, to the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports is pivotal moment in the journey towards elevating India's sports prowess on the international stage.

****

PPG