Imphal: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, felicitated medal winners, participants and support staff from the Armed Forces, who took part in the recently concluded 19th Asian Games at Hangzhou, China on Tuesday.
The Minister interacted with a total of 76 players and staff, who attended the event in New Delhi, and congratulated them for their excellent display at the Games.
Rajnath also announced cash prizes to the Armed Forces personnel, who brought laurels to the country and once again proved their mettle at an international event, by bagging 16 individual medals (03 Gold, 06 Silver & 07 Bronze) and eight team medals (02 Gold, 03 Silver & 03 Bronze) at the Games.
Gold medal winners will be given Rs 25 lakh; Silver medal winners will get Rs 15 lakh and Bronze medal winners will be awarded Rs 10 lakh. A contingent of 88 soldiers, including three sportswomen, participated in 18 disciplines at the Games, which were held from September 23 to 08 October 2023.
In his address, the Defence Minister lauded the efforts of the players, including those who gave their best but could not win the medals. He reminded them of Flying Sikh Milkha Singh, who missed a medal in the 400-metre race in the 1960 Olympics in Rome by a whisker but became a guiding star of Indian athletics. Milkha Singh is an inspiration for all even today, he said.
Singh exuded confidence that these medals and performances will inspire the country’s youth to come forward in sports. “You are not just representing a medal, but are also representing a narrative of excellence of Indian society. You are a great medium to provide inspiration to the youth,” he told the players.
The Defence Minister commended the Armed Forces personnel for always being among the medal winners at different Games. “Be it a battlefield or a playground, a soldier always performs because of dedication, discipline, hard work and the desire to do something for the nation. These virtues help in bringing medals for us in sports. Within a soldier, there is a player; within a player, there is a soldier,” he said.
The felicitation ceremony was attended by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Chief of the Army Staff General Manoj Pande, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff Vice Admiral Sanjay Jasjit Singh and senior officers of Sports Control Board of respective services, said a press note from the DPR (MoD), New Delhi.
