PM Modi Delivers Reality Check On Indian Sports, Spells Out 'Bitter Truth'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday offered a candid assessment of the current state of Indian sports and highlighted an area where the country needs to make progress. Addressing athletes, students and volunteers virtually during the Khelo India Dialogue, he said India's Olympic medal tally can rise only if the country expands its presence across a wider range of sporting disciplines.

PM Modi stressed that India's sporting ambitions should not be restricted to winning medals. He said sports must also become an important part of the country's broader development and nation-building efforts.

Highlighting what he described as a “bitter truth,” PM Modi noted that India does not compete in a large number of sports featured at the Olympics.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, India participated in 16 of the 32 sports on the programme. According to the Prime Minister, increasing India's participation across more disciplines is essential if the country wants to improve its overall Olympic performance.

"In the Olympics, there are so many different sports. Indian teams don't even participate in half of them," PM Modi said, calling it a "bitter truth".

A similar situation was evident during India's campaign at the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Several sports that traditionally contribute significantly to India's medal tally, including badminton, hockey, cricket and wrestling, were not part of the competition.

Despite competing in only 10 sporting disciplines and six integrated para-sports, India still finished fourth on the points table. The country secured 13 gold, 17 silver and nine bronze medals.

"...we don't even compete for a huge chunk of the medal tally. And this has been going on for decades. Other countries of the world win medals in those sports, and we don't even participate in them. To increase our medal tally, we will have to master these sports as well," he added.

PM Modi specifically identified surfing and sport climbing as two disciplines where he believes India has the potential to make a strong impact in the future.

"For example, surfing and sport climbing. We have a huge coastline and vast mountainous regions. From water sports to winter sports, we have the demography and geography. But we do not have a strong presence in these sports. So, we have to look at the possibilities of developing the ecosystem for such sports and build it further," he continued.

Shivam Sharma is an Associate Producer at ABP Live English with seven years of experience in journalism. As a sports beat expert, he specialises in cricket and major sporting events, delivering accurate, engaging, and timely stories. His work combines strong editorial judgment with in-depth sports analysis for digital audiences.

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