Jammu, Nov 25: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday said that the achievements of our athletes in the recently concluded Asian Games, Asian Para Games and Asian Para Archery Games is a testimony to new sports culture under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and India is now seen as the new powerhouse of champions.
Speaking after inaugurating the Synthetic Athletic track at University of Jammu at the closing ceremony of 67th National Schools Games in Judo Under-14 Boys and Girls and Fencing Under-19 Boys & Girls, Sinha congratulated the budding sporting talents for their remarkable performance in various sporting disciplines.
“National School Games provide the launching platform for young sporting talents. From this platform a new journey begins for all of you, which will pave the way for many opportunities as well as excellence in international sporting events,” the Lt Governor said.
“Those who wish to win never quit, that is the mantra of success. The talents of many legendary icons of sports were spotted first in school games. They were provided with right training and mentoring to harness their potential and to achieve greater heights of success,” he said.
He encouraged the young players to work hard to transform their inherent talent and set new goals every day to fulfil the destiny for which they were born.
“Every player is unique, he or she has some talents that no one else has. They just need to recognize the uniqueness and take it to the pinnacle of success,” he said.
He said, “Goals define you as an athlete, your motivation, confidence and proper training are your biggest allies in achieving those goals. Today the adequate sports infrastructure, modern training and facilities shows that the nation is giving due importance to sports and availability of these three significant elements has proved to be the foundation of building a new India in the sporting arena,” the Lt Governor said.
At the closing ceremony, the Lt Governor shared the efforts of the UT Administration to popularize a robust sports culture in Jammu Kashmir.
He said the new sports policy, world-class facilities and mentoring of sportspersons have created a conducive environment to excel and bring laurels to the UT and the nation in international tournaments.
Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor; Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary; Sarmad Hafeez, Secretary Youth Services and Sports, senior officials, officers bearers of School Games Federation of India, eminent sports personalities, coaches and youth in large numbers were present.
