In anticipation of the eagerly awaited Paris Olympics 2024, the newly appointed Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Mansukh Mandaviya, conducted a review meeting on India’s preparations for the event in New Delhi.
This marked the first meeting between the Sports Minister and India Olympic Association (IOA) President PT Usha. The meeting also included the presence of Sports Secretary Sujata Chaturvedi, DG SAI Sandip Pradhan, and MOS Sports Raksha Khandse.
“Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports visited IOA. I am so happy that they wanted to know about IOA and also about the Paris preparation. We will be in contact with each other and will try to have meetings every week,” Usha told the media.
The games will commence on July 26 and conclude on August 11. In the Olympics, India aims to exceed their record of seven medals, including one gold, achieved at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Similarly, in the Paralympics, India strives to surpass their best performance of 19 medals, including five golds, also achieved at the 2020 Tokyo edition.
In addition to the Sports Minister, Mansukh Malviya will serve as the Union Minister of Labour and Employment. Anurag Thakur was the previous Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports during PM Modi’s second term.
Mansukh Mandaviya took charge as the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare in 2021, replacing Dr. Harsh Vardhan. Mandaviya was sworn in at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Sunday. In the recent Lok Sabha election, he won from Porbandar, Gujarat, defeating Congress’s Lalit Vasoya by 3,83,360 votes. The Porbandar seat, one of 26 in Gujarat, will have its next poll on May 7 in the third phase of General elections, featuring a contest between Mandaviya and Vasoya.