Continuing the tradition of meeting with the athletes after a multi-national event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 13 (Saturday) hosted India's Commonwealth Games contingent, which participated in the recently-concluded quadrennial tournament in Birmingham, at his residence in Delhi.
India put on a spectacular performance at the 2022 CWG games, finishing fourth in the medals tally with 22 golds, 16 silvers and 23 bronze. Overall, India pocketed 61 medals and finished only behind tournament giants Australia (178), England (176) and Canada (92).
PM Modi posed for pictures with India's CWG heroes, delivered a motivational speech and interacted with the athletes.
"I am happy that all of you have taken time out of your schedule to come to meet me at my residence as members of the family. I, just like all other Indians, feel proud to be talking to you. I welcome you all," PM Modi said while addressing the athletes.
"This is just the beginning for our Yuva Shakti. The Golden age of Indian sports has just begun. In the past few weeks, the nation recorded two major achievements in the field of sports.
"Besides historic performance in CWG, for the first time country hosted Chess Olympiad," PM Modi continued.
In the pictures shared by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) on its official Twitter handle, the Indian athletes looked upbeat and were all smiles as they waited for PM Modi's arrival.
Superstars of Indian sports like PV Sindhu, Achanta Sharath Kamal, Mirabai Chanu, Amit Panghal and others all claimed gold medals in their respective sports while budding superstars like Lakshya Sen and Jeremy Lalrinnunga also secured the bright yellow metals.
The biggest storyline for the country in 2022 CWG was Lawn Bowls Women’s Fours were Lovely Choubey, Pinki, Nayanmoni Saikia, Rupa Rani Tirkey took India to the top of the podium for the first time ever.
Elsewhere, the Indian women's cricket team and men's hockey team bagged silver while women's hockey team clinched bronze.
“Under Harmanpreet’s leadership, India has produced a fantastic performance in cricket. All players have done well but no one had the antidote to Renuka’s swing bowling. It is not a small feat to be the top wicket-taker among the greats,” PM Modi said while lauding the Indian women's team's historic silver medal at the multi-national event.
