New Delhi, August 9 (UNI): Sports Minister Anurag Thakur felicitated medallists of Tokyo Olympics Neeraj Chopra, Bajrang Punia, Ravi Dahiya, Lovlina Borgohain and men’s hockey team here on Monday evening at Ashoka Hotel.
Among athletes who missed the felicitation ceremony were Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist badminton player PV Sindhu and silver medallist weightlifter Mirabai Chanu.
“We have waited for 121 years for an Olympic medal in athletics and Neeraj Chopra ended that wait. Neeraj, you haven’t just won a medal but also the hearts of Indians. You have inspired generations to come in the future,” said Thakur.
“The Olympains who returned as medallists from Tokyo have become sources of inspiration for the rest of the youth in the country,” he added.
Among the first to be felicitated was Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Bajrang Punia. “Thank you all for the love and respect we have got. It feels like I have won a medal again today. About the injury, it was my last bout so I wanted to give it my all, I didn’t care about the knee injury. Even if my knee had broken it wouldn’t have mattered to me. I just wanted to give my best and get the medal,” said Punia, who won the bronze in men’s 65 kg freestyle wrestling.
