Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacts with the Indian Olympic contingent after the Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort on Thursday (August 15, 2024). | Photo Credit: X@narendramodi
Lakshya Sen Hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh reveals how strict coach Prakash Padukone snatched his phone Hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh spoke about his team’s thrilling performance even as they all had a good laugh over the air-conditioning problem in Paris when Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted a reception in honour of the Indian contingent after its good show at the Olympics.
hosted by the Prime Minister Indian Contingent After the Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort, where the athletes were present on Thursday (August 15, 2024).
The video of this interaction was shared by Mr Modi and in it the players can be seen having a one-on-one conversation with the Prime Minister.
In one such conversation with Lakshya, who finished fourth in the men’s singles badminton competition, Mr Modi said: “When I first met Lakshya, he was very young but now he has grown up. Do you know, this time you have become a celebrity?” To this Lakshya replied: “Yes sir. But during the matches Prakash sir took my phone and told me you won’t get your phone until the matches are over. But after that I realised how much support I got.”
“It was a learning experience and a bit of a heartbreaker at the same time because I came so close,” said the 22-year-old, who lost from a strong position in the bronze medal playoff.
Laughing, Mr Modi immediately added: “Prakash sir was so disciplined and strict, I will send him next time too.” The Paris Olympics were promoted as eco-friendly Games. Hence, none of the rooms in the Games Village had air conditioners, prompting the Sports Ministry to send 40 portable ACs on an urgent basis for their comfortable stay.
Laughing, Mr Modi asked all the athletes who blamed him for the situation, to which no one answered.
Mr Modi said, “There were no ACs and it was very hot, so I want to know who among you cried first and said ‘Modi talks big but there are no ACs in the rooms, so what should we do’.”
The Prime Minister said, “Who are the people who faced the most difficulties. But then I came to know that even that work was completed in a few hours. See, how we try to provide you the best facilities.”
Shri Modi also had a light-hearted conversation with Harmanpreet, during which he talked about how the team came back after playing with 10 players for over 40 minutes in the quarter-final against Great Britain.
The Prime Minister asked the Indian captain by his nickname, “Just tell me, when you were fighting against Britain with 10 men, were you discouraged right from the beginning, Sarpanch sahab, please tell, it was very tough.”
Harmanpreet replied: “Yes sir, it was very difficult as we got a red card in the first quarter itself but our coaching staff helped us a lot. We imagined every situation as anything can happen in the Olympics. The team’s motivation also increased as we have a rivalry with GB (Britain).”
The Prime Minister interrupted and laughingly said: “This has been going on for the last 150 years.” Harmanpreet said: “We competed and the match was tied 1-1 and won in the shoot-out. This has never happened before in Olympic history (playing with 10 players for 42 minutes and then winning).”
Paris Olympics is the basis for the rise of Indian sports
Mr Modi believes that the recently concluded Paris Olympics is going to be a turning point for India. The 117-member Indian contingent won six medals including one silver and five bronze. This number was one less than Tokyo and there was no gold medal this time.
But Prime Minister Modi praised the efforts of all the athletes representing the country and said that their suggestions will help in successfully achieving the rights to host the 2036 Games.
Modi said, “Those who have returned after losing, please remove this thought from your mind. You made the country proud and came back having learnt something. Sports is a field where nobody loses, everybody learns.”
The Prime Minister said, “I believe the Paris Olympics will be a launch-pad for the rise of Indian sports. This will be our turning point. After this there will only be victory. We are not going to stop.”
The Prime Minister described the athletes as “soldiers of India at the 2036 Olympics”.
The Prime Minister said, “India is preparing to host the 2036 Olympics. In this matter, many athletes who played in the Olympics, their inputs are very important. You must have seen many things there, from the planning of the Olympics to all the facilities, from sports management to event management.”
“Your experiences, your observations, we need to write them down, so that all your little things and experiences will help us in preparing for the 2036 Olympics. In a way, you are the soldiers of the 2036 Olympics,” he said.