New Delhi [India], August 15 (ANI): During his Independence Day speech at Red Fort in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the importance of sports in development and expressed happiness at how parents of children from this generation express pride whenever they take up a sport.

PM hoisted the tricolour at the Red Fort in Delhi, as the nation marked the celebration of the 79th Independence Day.

Speaking from the Red Fort, PM Modi said, 'Sports also hold importance for development, and I am glad that today, if children take an interest in sports, parents are filled with pride. I consider this a very auspicious sign for the future of the country.'

He also highlighted the efforts of the central government to give sports a push, particularly the Khelo India policy, under which several multi-sport competitions are held at many levels and categories, such as the Khelo India Youth Games, Khelo India University Games, Khelo India Winter Games, Khelo India Para Games and the inaugural Khelo India Beach Games, which took place this year.

These competitions have helped in development and identification of talent which could represent India at Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships etc for years to come. The policy has also led to a chain of world-class sporting facilities developed across India, named the Khelo India Centres of Excellence.

'To promote sports, we have introduced the Khelo India policy in the country after many decades. So that efforts can be made for the all-round development of the sports world. From school to the Olympics, we want to develop a complete ecosystem,' PM Modi added.

India aspires to host the 2036 Summer Olympics, marking a huge step in their rise as a sporting superpower. Under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) launched in 2014, several young and promising talents and veterans alike have been provided with the best of the services, equipment, money etc to help them land a medal in the Olympics. This led to India's best medal tally at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, with seven medals (one gold, two silver and four bronze medals). In the Paris 2024 Olympics, India won six medals, including a silver and five bronze medals.

A massive difference was also visible in India's Paralympics performances. The Paralympic revolution kickstarted in true sense at Tokyo with 19 medals, including five gold. The Indian contingent, motivated by this performance, took their performances several notches above in Paris with a record-breaking 29 medals, including seven golds, nine silvers and 13 bronze medals.

In the Asian Games Hangzhou (2022) and Para Asian Games (2022), Team India breached the 100-medal mark for the first time ever, with 106 medals (28 gold, 38 silver and 40 bronze) and 109 medals (28 gold medals, 32 silver medals and 49 bronze) respectively.

Indian government's efforts to boost sports culture has also produced landmarks like Team India's maiden Thomas Cup win over 14-time champions Indonesia by 3-0 back in 2022, Neeraj Chopra's gold medal at World Athletics Championships in 2023 at Budapest among many other accomplishments.

Also, notably, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President PT Usha recently expressed her delight at the approval for India's bid to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games during its Special General Meeting (SGM) on Wednesday.

There are various speculations about the host city, and Ahmedabad has emerged as the frontrunner. However, Usha confirmed that they have yet to decide on that, considering there are many cities with the facilities, including Bhubaneswar.

'Actually, the meeting has gone well. We have unanimously made the Commonwealth 2030 bid proposal. When you work together, you get the best results. I am so happy today. We have a lot of facilities in Ahmedabad is there, and Bhubaneswar is there; we are yet to decide that, and that will be coming very soon,' Usha told ANI.

After the meeting concluded, an IOA source revealed that 'Ahmedabad is likely going to be the city to host the Commonwealth Games 2030'. Proposals are expected to be submitted by August 31, and Commonwealth Sport is expected to decide on the host city in November.

Notably, in June, a senior state delegation led by Harsh Sanghavi, Minister of Sports, Government of Gujarat, met officials from Commonwealth Sport as part of efforts to understand the bid framework for the 2030 Games. (ANI)