Army Sports Institute Stadium Named After Olympic Gold Medalist Neeraj Chopra

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh named the Army Sports Institute stadium 'Neeraj Chopra Stadium'. He visited the Army Sports Institute, Pune, accompanied by Chief of Army Staff, General Manoj Mukund Naravane and Southern Army Commander, Lieutenant General JS Nain. During his maiden visit, the Defence Minister felicitated Olympians from the three services. In the unveiling ceremony, he named the Army Sports Institute stadium “Neeraj Chopra Stadium”. He then addressed the troops and interacted with the budding sportsmen of the Army Sports Institute.

In a tweet, Defence Minister said “Felicitated Subedar Neeraj Chopra at the Army Sports Institute in Pune today for his amazing performance at Tokyo Olympics. He made the country proud by winning the Olympics Gold Medal. Now, the ASI has renamed the Stadium after him. Wishing him success in his future endeavours.”

“Delighted to facilitate all the Armed Forces personnel who participated in the Tokyo Olympics. My good wishes to them for a successful career ahead,” he added.

Rajnath Singh hoped that India would become a top sports nation in the future and host the Olympics.

The Indian Army’s “Mission Olympics” programme was launched in 2001 with an intent to deliver medal-winning performances in the Olympics and other international events. The focus of the Indian Army is to identify and train promising sportspersons in 11 disciplines. Mission Olympics of Indian Army through Army Sports Institute has been spearheading this initiative of the Army.

Army Sports Institute envisions to train world-class sports persons, with sustained and systematic talent hunt, state-of-the-art training and supporting infrastructure. Army Sports Institute is a unique facility for budding sportspersons.

The Defence Minister complimented Army Sports Institute for the exceptional training facilities being provided to the sportsperson of the country. He offered full support in providing financial and administrative assistance to the institute. The visit of the Raksha Mantri boosted the morale of the sportsmen, who are striving towards achieving the aim of excellence for the country.

The Defence Minister also visited Headquarters Southern Command based at Pune. The Raksha Mantri was briefed by Lieutenant General JS Nain, Army Commander, Southern Command on various operational, training and administrative issues of the largest command of the Indian Army. He complimented Southern Command for its professional approach and operational readiness towards ensuring the sovereignty of the Nation. He also congratulated the Command for its outstanding contribution in various Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations in peninsular India, particularly towards assistance provided to civil administration in the recent flood relief operations and the pandemic. He appreciated the efforts of Southern Command for engaging with Research & Development institutes to further the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative of the Government.