India’s new sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Saturday caught up with Olympic-bound athletes weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, javelin thrower Annu Rani and shot putter Abha Khatua at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports (NIS) here and took stock of their preparations for the quadrennial showpiece event in the French capital.

Mandaviya also inspected the progress of the new infrastructure coming up at the NIS, Patiala.

“My conversation with Mirabai, Annu Rani and Abha convinces me that our athletes have received the best possible support in their preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” the minister said.

Mirabai expressed her gratitude for the support from the sports ministry, particularly in being able to secure the services of world renowned sports scientist Dr. Aaron Horschig from St. Louis in the United States of America while Annu spoke glowingly about being able to train for an extended period of time at European bases.

Mandaviya also interacted with other athletes enrolled in the National Centre of Excellence here and some prominent coaches. He asked them for suggestions on reducing the drop-out rates from competitive sport.

“You are getting the needed support. However, many of those who started with you, but didn’t win medals get left behind. What can we do for them?” he asked.

He also shared that in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s wish for overall development of sports, the government would encourage the identification and nurturing of the grassroots talent.

The Sports Minister also took a review of NSNIS and visited the various Fields of Play, Sports Science facilities and the new infrastructure project sites. He was also pleased with the progress of the High Performance Centre for Sports Science and the kitchen and dining.

“I am delighted to be at hallowed NIS, the traditional home of Indian sport. It continues to a critical hub to not only produce coaches of quality who can make a change at the grassroot level but has also a great training facility. Some of our athletes who have trained at other centres around the world believe NIS is comparable with the best,” Mandaviya said

The minister then left for Panchkula where he was to unveil the Athletics Federation of India’s new logo at the National Inter-State Athletics Championships in the Tau Devi Lal Stadium there.