Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hailed Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra for motivating young students at a school, saying such efforts will increase curiosity towards sports and exercising.
Modi's praise came a day after Javelin thrower Chopra visited a school in Gujarat's Ahmedabad city to launch a national mission wherein renowned sportsmen would visit schools in the country to make students aware of the importance of a balanced diet, fitness and sports.
Tagging tweets on Chopra's school visit and his interaction with students, Modi tweeted, "Let us keep up the momentum and inspire our youth to shine on the games field."
"Great moments!" Modi tweeted about Chopra encouraging young students to throw the javelin.
"This is a great initiative by @Neeraj_chopra1, to go among young students and motivate them on sports and fitness. Such efforts will increase curiosity towards sports and exercising," the prime minister said in another tweet.
Chopra visited the Sanskardham school in Ahmedabad and interacted with students of 75 different schools who had gathered there as part of this initiative, said a release by the Gujarat government.
A brainchild of Prime Minister Modi, the outreach initiative envisages all Olympians and Paralympians interacting with students from 75 schools each in two years to motivate the youngsters to have 'Santulit Ahaar' or a balanced diet and take on fitness activities.
This initiative is being jointly organised by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Apart from making students aware of the importance of a balanced diet, fitness and sports, Chopra also answered their queries.
"Had a wonderful day at @sanskardham_In interacting with students, playing sports with them and speaking to them about the importance of exercise and diet in fitness. It's great to see a school that offers such a balance of sports & academics," Chopra had tweeted on his visit to the school.
With PTI inputs.