New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that a lot of young sportspersons making their debut have performed well in Khelo India and the government wants to work towards the betterment of the local ecosystems of various sports.

Modi addressed the nation in his radio programme Mann Ki Baat, and said, “In January about 6,000 players participated in 18 disciplines in the Khelo India Youth Games held in Pune. Only when the local ecosystem of our sports will be strong, i.e. only when our base will be strong, then only our youth will be able to perform their best in the country and across the world. This time in ‘Khelo India’, participants from every state have performed well at their individual level”.

“When we talk about New India we talk about empowering our youth. The stories from Khelo India tell us that the youth of villages and small cities are also huge contributors to the emergence of New India”, Modi added.

Modi mentioned the names of boxer Akash Gorkha, Kabaddi player Sonali Helvi, youngest gold medallist in the Khelo India Games Abhinav Shaw, weightlifter Akshaya Basavani, as inspiring heroes from the annals of Khelo India.