Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah inaugurated the Gandhinagar Premier League (GPL) in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, today. Many dignitaries, including Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendra Patel, were present on this occasion.

In his address, Shri Amit Shah said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Sansad Khelkood Mahotsav was started in Gandhinagar a few days ago. He said that today, more than 1,37,000 players have participated in 42 sports, and there are many players who have participated in more than one sports discipline. He said that Prime Minister Modi had appealed to the Members of Parliament (MPs) across the country to organise Sansad Khelkood Mahotsav and make efforts to popularise sports by passing it on to children as culture. Shri Shah said that there are many sports in our country through which sports values can be imparted to children.

The Union Home Minister said that cricket was kept out of the Sansad Khelkood Mahotsav so that it doesn’t overshadow other sports, and today, after the end of this festival, the Gandhinagar Premier League (GPL) is starting. He said that 1,078 cricket teams from Gandhinagar are participating in GPL. He said that in this entire event, 16,170 players from 1078 teams will play 1071 matches. Shri Shah said that losing creates the passion to win, and defeat after victory removes ego coming from winning. He said that Everyone should take winning and losing normally, and, there should neither be pride in victory nor disappointment in defeat.

Shri Amit Shah said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has taken many steps to boost sports, in the whole country, including Gujarat. He said that today, 66 lakh people are participating in this Khelkood Mahotsav, which is unprecedented. He said that during 10 years of Modi government from 2014 to 2024, many new initiatives have been taken in the field of sports. Shri Shah said that the Modi government has provided resources including Rs 50,000 per month for every athlete, their training and good stadium facilities. He said that many international sports competitions have also been organised in India in the last few years. He said that Modi ji has encouraged the players by hosting sports festivals and live telecast of national-level games in every state and selecting players on merit. He said that the result of all these efforts was that India won 107 medals in 2023 Asian Games, as compared to 57 medals in the 2014 Asian Games. Similarly, in the 2014 Paralympic Games, India won 33 medals, while in 2022, Indian players won 111 medals. Shri Shah said that India won 2 medals in the 2016 Olympics, whereas we bagged 7 medals in the 2020 Olympics. Similarly, India won 15 gold medals in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, which increased to 26 gold medals in 2018 edition.

The Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation said that our aim is to build an India that will be at the top of the Olympics medal tally at the time of the centenary of independence. He said that it is the job of the youth of the country to build a grand edifice in the next 25 years on the strong foundation laid by Prime Minister Modi in the field of sports. He said that in the coming days, a complete scientific system for sports infrastructure, training of players, transparent selection, and looking after health of the players will be made in the country.

*****

RK / RR / PR / AK