Rio-bound Indians enjoy time with Prime Minister Narendra Modi

NEW DELHI: Monday was an eventful day for the Riobound Indian athletes. They were seen flaunting their selfies with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media after an informal meeting in the morning. In the afternoon, they came together to launch a body of Olympians the

Olympians Association of India

(

OIA

) which is meant to look after the former and current sportspersons.

The

OAI

is the first nonprofit organisation of the Olympians directly affiliated to the

World Olympians Association

under the

International Olympic Committee

(

IOC

).

While some sat through the event, others decided to walk out midway. The wrestling contingent was among the first to leave and even shooter

Gagan Narang

excused himself in the middle of the event assuring that he would return.

"It was a long day for us. We had started very early and the wrestlers were tired. They wanted to rest and recover for evening's training," Greco Roman coach Kuldeep later said.

Manoj Kumar and coach

Gurbax Singh Sandhu

also left the event but the boxer later clarified that they had to rush to the embassy to pick their passports. Manoj, Shiva Thapa and boxing coaching staff will leave for a small training stint in London on early Tuesday morning. Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said at the occasion that there was a change in athletes' attitude in recent years, which was a positive sign. "There is a tremendous change in the attitude of the Indian athletes from 1998 to today. You are going there to win, not to make numbers. Give your best shot when you are on the field. Olympics is a tough event but you have been performing globally throughout the year, so once you go there do not treat this as something else and shut out all the unnecessary hype," he said.

"Athletes from every country go through problems, but there is a way to deal with it. So, a platform like the OAI can do a lot in that aspect," he added.

Gold jeetna hai: PM to Yogeshwar
Yogeshwar Dutt said the gesture by P M Modi will motivate the athletes. "Rio will be my fourth Olympics and never before has any Prime Minister shown this kind of gesture. This will motivate the athletes to perform better. When I met him he said, 'Pehelwan, gold jeetna hai'. I feel happy when people tell me to go for gold, it feels like the whole country is behind me," the 33-year-old said.

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