Rio Games: PM Narendra Modi to address India's largest ever Olympic contingent

New Delhi: With the names of 102 athletes already confirmed for the Rio Games, and a few more likely to be added before the start of the Olympic, India are set to send its biggest ever contingent for Olympic.

The previous highest was 83 athletes at the 2012 London Olympics.

Though, major contribution towards the increased participation goes to the 16-member women’s field hockey team, but individual participants have also raised their bar since 2012.

With less than 40 days left before the Summer Olympics begin, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided to infect the Rio-bounds sportspersons with his confidence and self-belief.

The PM will reportedly meet the contingent on July 4 at the Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi at 10am.

In conversation with Mail Today, the chief of Olympic contingent, Rakesh Gupta said,

“We have got a mail from the Sports Ministry which states that Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji wants to meet the Rio-bound athletes. It will be great. I don’t know the agenda, but am sure it will be about their preparations and problems, if any,”

“We have informed the sportspersons about this, and those who will be in India at that time will go. Those who are competing overseas in events like Wimbledon and athletics qualifiers will not be able to attend,” he added.

This will be an informal interaction between the Prime Minister and sportspersons, in an aim to instill confidence and self-belief ahead of the world’s biggest sporting event.