Union Sports Minister felicitates Indian PD Cricket Team, assures full Government support for ‘Divyang’ athletes
Jan 24, New Delhi : Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya honoured the Indian Physical Disability (PD) Cricket Team today on winning the PD Champions Trophy 2025 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The team defeated England in the tournament final, demonstrating exceptional skill and resilience. The Indian PD Cricket Team, supported by the Differently Abled Cricket Council of India (DCCI) and accessibility organization Svayam, was felicitated at the Sports Authority of India. Dr. Mandaviya emphasized the government’s commitment to supporting athletes with disabilities, quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of inclusive sports participation. “Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has assured commitment towards ‘divyang’ athletes. If you are a ‘divyang’ person, it doesn’t mean you cannot make the nation proud. And your victory is a testament to that. The passion showed by the Indian PD Cricket Team, from the rigorous process of selection to the performance in Sri Lanka, brings to light your immense mettle. Winning 5 matches out of six and beating England, Sri Lanka and Pakistan is no mean feat,” Dr Mandaviya said. The selection process of the Indian PD Cricket Team took place in Udaipur where over 450 cricketers from 28 States turned up for the Nationals. From the list, 56 were picked up for the Challenger Trophy in Jaipur and finally, 17 were shortlisted to represent India. Mentioning about the growing list of achievements brought to the nation by the specially-abled athletes, from the Paris Paralympics to the PD Champions Trophy 2025, Dr Mandaviya added, “Our ‘divyang’ athletes are giving us many reasons to be proud and pushing us to step up our support towards them. The government is with you and you have to use your success to inspire more youth through various platforms.” The event on Friday was also attended by the full team, coaches, DCCI General Secretary Ravikant Chauhan, Svayam Founder-Chairperson Sminu Jindal, and Sports Ministry officials.
Union Sports Minister felicitates winning teams of Kho Kho World Cup 2025, lauds players for making nation proud
Jan 22, New Delhi : Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya felicitated the World Cup-winning Kho Kho teams on Wednesday here. The Indian men and women teams scripted history after clinching the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup titles at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium on January 19. Both teams defeated Nepal in their respective finals. Present on Wednesday morning was the full squad of the men’s and women’s Kho Kho teams as well as the coaches, Sudhanshu Mittal, President of the Kho Kho Federation of India (KKFI) and other officials from the Union Sports Ministry and the Sports Authority of India. Talking about the resurgence of traditional games in the nation, Dr Mandaviya said, “Traditional games showcase the resilience, community spirit and most importantly, upholds our traditional sporting value. The world has so much to learn from the richness of these traditional games.“ “Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has mentioned across various national platforms that we have to give the best exposure to the traditional sports. Now our teams are not only getting the best exposures but also coming out with flying colours. I congratulate the spirit of our players and the traditional skills of both teams,” Dr Mandaviya mentioned. With the highlight being the 2036 Olympics which India has put forth a bid to host, the Union Minister added that the winning flow from all the stakeholders should continue, with the latest target being the Asian Games 2026. “We did a splendid job of organising the Kho Kho World Cup and we need to make an effort that these players get a chance to play at the Asian Games. The Government’s endeavour is also to take Kho Kho to Olympics in 2036. For this, the players and coaches need to keep performing well, the federation has to keep managing well and the Sports Ministry will carry on supporting and helping level up the players’ performances.” Out of the 23 countries that took part in the Kho Kho World Cup 2025 at the national capital, India came on top. The credit has largely been given to the month-long camp at the Sports Authority of India JLN Stadium. Sumit Bhatia, chief coach, India Women’s Kho Kho team, explained, “On December 10, we started the camp at the SAI JLN Stadium with 60 players. Out of them, we found the best 15 players each for the men’s and the women’s team. The teams were composed of players from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and the camp helped them forge the team chemistry.“ “The players went through sports science testing for the first-time ever and were provided the best diet and lodging facilities from the Sports Authority of India. This has played instrumental in our success today. With the next edition of the World Cup coming up in England four years later, we will make it a point to unfurl India’s flag again on top of the podium,” Sumit Bhatia added.
Union Sports Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya to chair first-ever round table meet with top corporates
New Delhi, January 15: With the objective of strengthening collaboration between the government and corporate stakeholders, Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya will chair a first-ever round table conference with top corporate houses in the National Capital on Thursday. More than 40 corporate houses and organisations working in the sports ecosystem will converge in the National Capital for the in-depth meeting. Prominent corporate companies who will be in attendance are Tata, JSW, Glenmark, Dalimia Cement, Relaince, Adani, Kotak Group, HDFC, ICICI Bank, Cultfit, Dream Sports, GMR Group, Google India, among others. The conference aims to foster dialogue between government ministers and corporate leaders to explore synergies, address key policy concerns, and develop collaborative strategies for sustainable economic growth and development in the sports arena. The meeting also aims to bring insights into actionable policies for enhancing the business ecosystem and strategic recommendations for sustainable and inclusive growth in sports arena.
