Sports are soft power, they unite the country, Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said while inaugurating the Khelo India Winter Games 2023
Gulmarg. Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said on Friday that sports unites the country and also shows its ‘soft power’. Soft power means the ability of a country through which it can get cooperation from other countries according to its interests without using any force. “Sports is a ‘soft power’,” Thakur said at the opening ceremony of the third season of the Khelo India Winter Games. When a sportsperson wins an international medal, he unites the country. Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal ended India’s 121-year wait in Olympic athletics. This sent a wave of celebration across the country.” Thakur said last year was a big one for Indian sports as sportspersons from various sports excelled in international competitions.
The Sports Minister said, “We got the maximum number of medals in the Summer Olympics and Paralympics. PV Sindhu won two consecutive Olympic medals in badminton and this is no small achievement. Earlier, Thakur inaugurated 40 Khelo India sports centers built in Jammu and Kashmir online. He said, “It is a proud moment that Jammu and Kashmir has done what other states could not do. There is an indoor stadium in all the districts of Jammu and Kashmir and many playgrounds have been built in this union territory.
Thakur said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants many big sports centers to be built in the country so that players can excel. “A sports university is coming up in Manipur and a center of excellence for winter sports will soon be set up in Gulmarg,” he said, suggesting promotion of ‘snow cricket’ to attract tourists to the state. Thakur said, “Snow cricket can be a new initiative which can improve tourism in Kashmir.
players will benefit
Let us tell you that the Khelo India Winter Youth Games has started from 10 February. The Khelo India Winter Youth Games will be played till February 14. In this regard, Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha said that during the Khelo India Winter Youth Games, 1500 players from 29 states will participate in the tournament. By organizing these games, where players will get a chance to perform well and show their talent, the number of tourists in Jammu and Kashmir will also increase.
