Prime Minister Narendra Modi has heaped praise on the Indian Asian Games contingent at the Major Dhyanchand Stadium in New Delhi following its unprecedented success at the 19th edition of the Asiad in Hangzhou, China. PM Modi addressed the Indian contingent comprising the athletes, coaches, and physiotherapists among others and lauded its brilliant effort that led to India recording a memorable outing in China.
"I welcome all of you (athletes) on behalf of 140 crore Indians. Because of your hard work and achievements, there is an atmosphere of celebration across the country. We never had a dearth of talent in our country but due to several obstacles, our athletes weren't able to convert their talent into medals," said PM Modi during his address.
The Indian Prime Minister credited the Khelo India programme and the Target Olympic Podium Scheme for the development of various kinds of sports in the country lately and how these programmes have expedited the growth of budding athletes in India.
India recorded a historic performance in the 19th edition of the Asian Games as it won a total of 107 medals and overhauled its previous Asiad record of bagging 70 medals which came its way in 2018 in Indonesia.
India bagged 28 gold (beating its previous best), 38 silver and 41 bronze medals in Hangzhou and finished in the fourth position on the medal table behind China (383 medals), Japan (188 medals) and South Korea (190 medals).
The Indian contingent had helped the country finish in the eighth position behind China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Iran and Chinese Taipei during the 2018 edition with a record tally at that time.
The 19th Asiad saw India script history in sports like Equestrian and badminton (men's singles). The Indian team of Anush Agarwalla, Divyakriti, Sudipti Hajela and Hriday Vipul aggregated a score of 209.205 in the Team Dressage event to claim the first gold for India in equestrian in 41 years.
Ace shuttler HS Prannoy also rewrote the history books as he became the second Indian in history to win an Asian Games medal in men's singles after Syed Modi. Modi had clinched bronze at the 1982 Asian Games.
