2 months ago
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Indian tennis fable Leander Paes connected Saturday (April 4, 2026) said helium has been entrusted with responsibilities related to India's bid for the 2036 Olympic Games, describing it arsenic a cardinal to his caller relation successful nationalist life.
The seven-time Olympian said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had fixed him the task of moving connected younker improvement and sports portion helping the state prosecute its ambition of hosting the Olympics successful 2036.
In his archetypal media enactment successful Kolkata aft joining the BJP, Mr. Paes said, "Modi ji gave maine a wide imaginativeness -- to enactment for the younker and sports. He has fixed maine the work of the 2036 Olympics. I person to enactment hard with a squad to bring the Olympics to this country." He besides said that helium wants to enactment towards strengthening sports infrastructure and for younker improvement successful West Bengal, and forestall "brain drain" from the state.
Mr. Paes besides said that helium would lend towards hosting the Commonwealth Games successful Gujarat.
The tennis fable said hosting the Olympics could assistance alteration India's sporting ecosystem and fortify its planetary standing.
Drawing parallels betwixt sporting occurrence and economical strength, helium noted that the apical medal-winning nations astatine the 2024 Summer Olympics, including the U.S., China, Japan, Australia and Great Britain, are besides among the world's starring economies.
Mr. Paes said India should purpose to execute akin occurrence by gathering a beardown sporting civilization and investing successful infrastructure and grassroots endowment development.
"In sports and sports acquisition lies the quality to physique a superpower," helium said, adding that processing young athletes would beryllium cardinal to India's Olympic ambitions.
Mr. Paes besides stressed the request to amended sports infrastructure successful West Bengal, noting that the authorities inactive lacks an indoor tennis stadium and often relies connected impermanent woody courts for planetary events specified arsenic the Davis Cup.
Mr. Paes said his broader ngo is to interaction the lives of 250 cardinal children implicit the adjacent 2 decades done sports and education, adding that India's younker would play a decisive relation successful the country's Olympic aspirations and planetary rise.
Calling his modulation from athletics to nationalist beingness a "new game", Paes said helium would attack the work with the aforesaid passionateness and committedness that defined his tennis career.
Identifying himself arsenic a "Bengal boy", Mr. Paes highlighted his roots successful Kolkata and said the state's younker indispensable beryllium fixed opportunities to turn wrong Bengal itself.
"I americium from here. Born here, started my puerility close here. My parent was Bengali," helium said.
Mr. Paes expressed interest implicit the deficiency of sporting infrastructure successful the authorities beyond cricket and football.
Recalling his aboriginal years successful sports, Paes said infrastructure for different disciplines has remained constricted contempt the beingness of large venues specified arsenic Eden Gardens for cricket and Salt Lake Stadium for football.
"When I was increasing up successful Kolkata successful 1980, determination was nary infrastructure. For each kid playing different sports, what is determination successful Bengal for them?" helium asked.
Mr. Paes besides noted that the authorities has produced lone a fistful of Olympic medallists successful much than a century.
"Since 1900 until today, lone astir 4 radical from West Bengal person won Olympic medals. In 100 years, what are we doing for the Olympics?" helium asked.
Speaking astir his enactment with the premier minister, Paes said PM Modi had emphasised younker improvement and sports arsenic cardinal areas.
"I told the Prime Minister that I don't privation to marque Bengal an old-age home. I privation to physique the lives of the Bengal youth. It is my imagination that determination is nary encephalon drain from Bengal," helium said.
Mr. Paes added that helium wants Bengal to regain prominence nationally and globally done sporting excellence.
"It hurts however galore children are moving distant from West Bengal for education, business, oregon opportunities," Paes said, expressing interest implicit the migration of young endowment from the state.
Mr. Paes besides referred to the fiasco astatine the Salt Lake stadium successful December past twelvemonth during shot prima Lionel Messi's sojourn to Kolkata.
The "disrespect" faced by the visiting subordinate would not person occurred had a sportsperson been heading the sports department, the Indian tennis fable said.
Mr. Paes said helium intends to enactment towards creating amended sporting opportunities for the younker and contributing to the country's sporting ambitions successful the coming years.
