Rijiju expects best-ever haul in Tokyo, sets sight on 2028 Olympics

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju is hoping for a best-ever medal haul from country's athletes in Tokyo Olympics but warned that blame would lie with all stakeholders if India fails to put up a good show in 2028 Games. Rijiju said eight years should be eugh for India to prepare its best for Los Angeles Olympics.

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Kiren Rijiju on 2028 preparations

"If we can't prepare ourselves for something that far (2028 Los Angeles Olympics)  n we have to blame ourselves in terms of policymaking, setting a direction and channelising resources," Rijiju said at FICCI's "Turf 2019" Global Sports Summit

"With time which is in our hand, we must ensure that India is more a country which is t taken seriously in Olympics. I will definitely t be satisfied as a sports minister of country if we don't win medals," he said. 
minister said nest year's Tokyo Olympics is immediate target but infrastructure needs to be put in place for future events for athletes to perform well. "Tokyo is an immediate target with existing talent. We cant create champions overnight. It's t possible to create world champions in a year or two. We have to ensure that entire infrastructure is in place," Rijiju said."Having said that, we have certain existing talents at our disposal and we have to make best of it. I hope Tokyo 2020 will be a good platform for India to have a best-ever Olympic performance but we have limitations. However, re is thing stopping us from 2024 Paris and especially 2028 Los Angeles Olympics which is more than 8 years away" he added.

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On performing well at international events

Rijiju also emphasised on need to do well at international sporting events."As a young nation, we can't afford to lag behind in international level of competition -- be it Olympics, Asian Games or any of world championships."We are a young nation that's why we have to set an ambitious target. In meeting with IOA (national Olympic body) and NSFs (sports federations), I had given m a very ambitious target. It's t easy but t impossible eir," he said. "We are rising. In last six months, our ranking and performance has increased. Most of results I've calculatedare best-ever," he said.

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