Sports Minister Vijay Goel reviews India's Rio Olympics performance with national sports federations

New Delhi: Sports Minister Vijay Goel on Thursday held a meeting with national sports federations (NSFs) to discuss India’s performance at the Rio Olympics and to chalk out a roadmap for the future. The meeting was a part of the ongoing review of India’s at Rio last month. Addressing the meeting, the minister called for learning the right lessons from Rio with a view to improving performance in future Olympic Games. [caption id=“attachment_3027352” align=“alignleft” width=“381”] Sports Minister Vijay Goel reviews India’s Rio 2016 performance. Image courtesy: Twitter/@VijayGoelBJP[/caption] He said that all the stakeholders, including the government and NSFs will have to work together to achieve the desired level of excellence in sports, according to a release. He said that norms of good governance and transparency will have to be followed by sports bodies to inspire confidence among the people. Sportspersons have to be given a key role in decision-making within the NSFs, the minister said. Goel asked the NSFs to work for the twin objectives of ‘Sports for All’ and ‘Excellence in Sports’. He expressed the resolve of the government to work for the promotion and growth of sports in the country. In this context, he referred to the deep interest shown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in promotion of sports. He said that the NSFs should use this opportunity, prepare an effective roadmap for the future and leave minor internal differences behind. Participating in the discussions, the representatives of the NSFs emphasised the need for increased funding for sports, including corporate funding, monitoring of the performance of coaches and sportspersons, creation of infrastructure, jobs for sportspersons. Goel said he favoured self-regulation by NSFs for betterment of sports. Among those who attended the meeting were the president and secretary general of Indian Olympic Association and senior officials of Department of Sports and Sports Authority of India.