PM urges Sports Minister to revive Indian hockey

New Delhi, Jun 2 (UNI) Giving a clarion call to revive Indian hockey, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, today urged the Sports Minister MS Gill to recapture the spirit of the game and regain its lost glory.

Speaking on the occasion of presentation of the book 'Golden Yardstick: In Quest of Hockey Excellence' written by former captain and Olympian, Shri Balbir Singh here, Dr Singh said ''I sincerely hope and on an occasion like this, would urge Gill Saheb to do all he can on behalf of Government to rewrite the history of hockey in the country, to write another glorious chapter this country is certainly entitled to.'' ''To have a first class hockey team, a team that should have the ambition to achieve the heights that were once achieved by Balbir and his fellow players. With these words, I express my joy for being in your company,'' he added.

Recalling the golden era of Indian hockey, Dr Singh said, ''it had produced inspiring players, inspiring coaches and inspiring captains and had seen better days. The spirit of adventure, which is associated with legendary figures like Sardar Balbir Singh has to be recaptured.'' He said the Indian sportsmen of international stature are the best ambassadors in an era of globalisation.

''They are the people who are the role models of our younger generations,'' he said.

The Prime Minister urged the Sports Minister, Gill to do all he can on behalf of the Government to write another glorious chapter in the history of Indian hockey and recognise the importance of hockey as the national game.

UNI RAR RKM PM2054