New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday interacted with over 40 eminent Indian sportspersons and urged them to play a pro-active role in tackling the threat posed by the outbreak of COVID-19.
Among those who took part in the discussion, via video conferencing, were Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, PV Sindhu, Rani Rampal, Hima Das and Ankita Raina.
The Prime Minister praised the sportspersons for their stellar on-field performances and added that they now have a very important role to play in boosting the morale of their countrymen and also spreading the message of social distancing and strictly following government advisories.
He pointed out that the traits they had learnt during training — ability to face challenges, self-discipline, positivity and self-belief — are important tools to combat the virus.
The PM advised the sportspersons to include five points in their message to people — ‘sankalp’ to fight the pandemic, ‘sanyam’ to follow social distancing, ‘sakaratmakta’ to maintain positivity, ‘samman’ to respect frontline soldiers in this tough battle and ‘sahyog’ at personal as well as national level through contribution to PM-CARES fund.
He also asked the likes of Tendulkar and Kohli to highlight the importance of physical and mental fitness, and also popularize guidelines released by AYUSH Ministry.
The sportspersons praised Modi’s leadership and thanked him for ensuring that the healthcare workers and police personnel get the respect they deserve for their selfless service.
