Saturday, March 15, 2025

Thakur steers clear of Punia controversy

Date:

Share post:

spot_img

Bengaluru, Dec 23: Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday refused to involve himself in the boiling controversy over wrestler Bajrang Punia returning his Padma Shri in protest against the election of Sanjay Singh, a Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh loyalist, as the president of WFI.
Olympic medallist Punia had reached the Kartavya Path in New Delhi on Friday to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and hand over a protest letter but kept the Padma Shri medallion on a footpath there being blocked by the policemen.
“I have already spoken enough. No more comments,” said Thakur here at the SAI centre on the sidelines of a function to honour eminent athletes and Asian Games medal winners.
Thakur also inaugurated new hostel facilities and a Synthetic Athletic Track at SAI.
However, Thakur exhorted past champions to come forward and help the budding athletes to make a mark in international level competitions.
“Our athletes won over 100 medals both in the Asian Games (in Hangzhou) and in the Asian Para Games. These stories need to be highlighted,” Thakur said.
The Minister then asked the former champions to pitch in to sustain the success in future competitions.
“We have won several major events. We had won the first Thomas Cup last year and we also saw a lot of success in hockey, athletics and other events. Now, the champions should ensure that they pass the knowledge and experience to the upcoming athletes so that we can better this effort in future.” (PTI)

spot_img

Related articles

Our approach is ‘India First’ in trade talks with US, says Piyush Goyal

New Delhi, March 14: Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said that he "had a forward-looking discussion with...

Bhutan cops to undergo training at Assam police academy: Minister

GUWAHATI, March 14: After imparting training to new recruits of Manipur Police and Goa Police, the Lachit Barphukan...

Security forces nab several cadres of Manipur militant groups with arms

Guwahati, March 14: Security forces in Manipur conducted a series of operations across separate locations of the state...

Russian President meets Trump’s envoy, given ‘additional details’ on talks, says Kremlin

Moscow, March 14: Russian President Vladimir Putin has met US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and...