Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday congratulated the Indian contingent for scoring a “century” in the medal tally, and marking a historic feat by finishing fourth with an unprecedented 107 medals from the 19th Asian Games at Hangzhou.
Addressing the media on Saturday, Thakur celebrated India’s stellar performance at the Hangzhou Games, saying every Indian is proud of the efforts.
“It’s a century, India has done it for the first time, we have won more than 100 medals in Asian Games. Every Indian is so proud of their athletes. My heartfelt congratulations to each and every athlete. 1.4 billion Indians are sending their best wishes and congratulations to the athletes. 72 years of Asian Games we had not done that well, what we have done this time, our athletes broke many records this time and made many Asian records,” Thakur said on Saturday.
The Sports Minister also expressed hope that the athletes will perform with the same enthusiasm in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.
“The hockey team performed excellently; matches were one-sided. With the quota in the Olympics, many athletes promised to continue this performance in the Olympics as well,” he added.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also congratulated the Indian contingent on the “momentous achievement”.
PM Modi informed through his post that he will be hosting the Indian contingent in the Asian Games on October 10, adding that he will personally interact with athletes, who lit up the Hangzhou Games with dazzling individual and team performances to help the country reach the 100-medal mark in the 19th Asian Games.
“A momentous achievement for India at the Asian Games! The people of India are thrilled that we have reached a remarkable milestone of 100 medals. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to our phenomenal athletes whose efforts have led to this historic milestone for India. Every awe-inspiring performance has made history and filled our hearts with pride. I look forward to hosting our Asian Games contingent on the 10th and interacting with our athletes,” PM Modi posted on X (formerly Twitter).