INDIA. Mumbai: A stadium of the Army Sports Institute (ASI) located in Pune in Maharashtra, was named after Olympic Gold winner Neeraj Chopra by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh during his visit to the institute on Friday.
During his maiden visit, Singh also felicitated Olympians from the three services. In the unveiling ceremony, he named the Army Sports Institute stadium “Neeraj Chopra Stadium”. He then addressed the troops and interacted with the budding sportsmen of the Army Sports Institute. During his visit, Singh was accompanied by Chief of Army Staff, General Manoj Mukund Naravane, and Southern Army Commander, Lieutenant General JS Nain.
In a tweet, Singh said “Felicitated Subedar Neeraj Chopra at the Army Sports Institute in Pune today for his amazing performance at Tokyo Olympics. He made the country proud by winning the Olympics Gold Medal. Now, the ASI has renamed the stadium after him. Wishing him success in his future endeavours. Delighted to facilitate all the Armed Forces personnel who participated in the Tokyo Olympics. My good wishes to them for a successful career ahead”. He hoped that India would become a top sports nation in the future and host the Olympics.
The Indian Army’s “Mission Olympics” program was launched in 2001 with an intent to deliver medal-winning performances in the Olympics and other international events. The focus of the Indian Army is to identify and train promising sportspersons in 11 disciplines. Mission Olympics of Indian Army through Army Sports Institute has been spearheading this initiative of the Army. Army Sports Institute envisions to train world-class sports persons, with sustained and systematic talent hunt, state-of-the-art training, and supporting infrastructure. Army Sports Institute is a unique facility for budding sportspersons.
Singh complimented Army Sports Institute for the exceptional training facilities being provided to the sportsperson of the country. He offered full support in providing financial and administrative assistance to the institute.
He also visited Headquarters Southern Command based in Pune. He was briefed by Lieutenant General JS Nain, Army Commander, Southern Command on various operational, training, and administrative issues of the largest command of the Indian Army. He complimented Southern Command for its professional approach and operational readiness towards ensuring the sovereignty of the Nation.
Singh also congratulated the Command for its outstanding contribution in various Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations in peninsular India, particularly towards assistance provided to civil administration in the recent flood relief operations and the pandemic. He appreciated the efforts of Southern Command for engaging with Research & Development institutes to further the “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” initiative of the Government.
