Pune: Rajnath Singh Inaugurates Stadium Named After Neeraj Chopra

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday inaugurated a stadium named after Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra at Army Sports Institute in Pune.

During the ceremony, Army Chief General MM Naravane was also present with Neeraj Chopra himself.

Singh said that Army Sports Institute (ASI) was named after Neeraj Chopra for his gold medal win in the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics. He also wished him success in his future endeavours.

"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," Singh tweeted.

He also said that the Centre under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working towards promoting sports in the country.

"We are fully committed to promoting sports. Our PM is working to encourage sports and sportspersons. The centre is making all efforts to encourage players. State governments are also playing a crucial role in this process," he said.

Apart from the inauguration programme, Singh also attended the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) meeting and interacted with Olympians from the armed forces.

According to an official statement, ASI, Pune has produced 34 Olympians, 22 Commonwealth Games medalists, 21 Asian Games medalists, six Youth Games medalists and 13 Arjuna Awardees.

He further said that the institute has evolved as a premier sports training institute to prepare the service sportspersons for international competitions through scientific talent identification, systematic training, world-class coaching, sports science support, international exposure and good infrastructure support in synergy with the Armed Forces, National Sports Federation and other sports agencies at national and international levels.