NEW DELHI: Following India's historic Thomas Cup victory, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju on Sunday said that badminton will be one of the major sports, which will help India win more medals at the Olympic Games in future.
Rijiju's remarks came at the conclusion of the Delhi State Ranking prize money badminton championship 2022 organised by DCBA on Sunday. He vowed to align Delhi Capital Badminton Association's (DCBA) goal with Khelo India in search of talented badminton players across the country.
"We want to align DCBA's goal with Khelo India and take it to district level in other states. When I was the sports minister, I had started TOPS Junior under Khelo India so that we get future Olympic medal prospects," Rijiju told reporters here.
Kiren Rijiju, who was earlier the Sports Minister, said under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership Khelo India is successfully moving forward.
"Under PM Modi's ji leadership Khelo India is successfully moving forward. Sports changes our lifestyle, motivates us in every aspect of our lives. We haven't identified the power sports yet, sports is also a booming sector, sports is life too," he added.
Speaking about the tournament, the Minister said, "I'm here to motivate the athletes, I love sports and in our country badminton has found its place in recent times. I can vouch for it that badminton will play a major role in India's quest for medals in Paris 2024."
"With men's and women's teams, India has emerged as a major force in badminton. So many countries play badminton but India has emerged as a powerhouse," he added.
More than 1700 shuttlers participated in the different categories in the Delhi State Ranking Prize Money Badminton Championship 2022, which concluded here on Sunday. The DCBA president praised the players and said the atmosphere during the tournament was very lively and exciting.
"The challenges are always there in this particular tournament. The challenge was that some of the players had their board exams. So I had to reschedule the tournament as I didn't want someone to miss their exam. But beyond that the venue was superb. It is a great complex, I would like to thank the Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University," Dr Ameeta Singh said.
"The atmosphere was very lively and exciting and I can assure you if there were things that were overlooked, I will definitely make up for that in the next tournament," she added.
The Indian badminton team scripted history on May 15 by winning the maiden Thomas Cup title since its inception in 1949.
"The country is now looking towards badminton, especially after the Thomas Cup win. We are not very far from being the number one in game, we as India have shown supremacy in world badminton," said Ameeta Singh.
Speaking about the players who were not able to win laurels despite giving their best, the DCBA president said, "This is not first, this not the last, the goals should be set high and there is a lot of determination and devotion required. It is an ongoing process, they should analyse where they fell short."
The event was also graced by Indian Olympic Association (IOA) vice-president Sudhanshu Mittal and other dignitaries. IANS
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