Modi links Asian Games medals to 'New India' and backs bid to host 2036 Olympics
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met India's Asian Games medallists at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday, October 15, 2026, and linked their performances to the emergence of a "New India" while reiterating the country's ambition to host the 2036 Olympic Games. The gathering included members of the gold-winning men's and women's cricket teams and other medal-winners from the continental event.
India finished the Asian Games with 85 medals, including 21 gold, a tally lower than the 106 medals won at the previous edition in Hangzhou; Games debutants contributed 41 of the 85 medals. Women athletes accounted for 38 medals, 11 of them gold, and the women's hockey side ended a 44-year wait for an Asian Games gold. Archers secured five gold medals for India at the continental event.
Addressing the athletes, Modi framed the medals as more than a points total, saying: "These medals are not merely numbers. They represent a powerful image of a New India." He added: "You have made 140 crore Indians proud. The biggest success is to make the tri-colour fly high. That's why your success is not just yours but it belongs to crores of our countrymen. I congratulate you on behalf of the entire country."
On India's hosting ambitions, Modi said the country was strengthening its credentials as a venue for major international competitions, asserting: "India is emerging in establishing itself as a credible and hospitable country for international sports events. We are bidding for 2036 Olympics and it is our resolve that we will host the games." He also praised team performances across cricket and hockey while singling out the contribution of archers and women athletes.
Modi highlighted youth involvement and talent identification, noting several Team India members at the Asian Games were aged 15–17 and that efforts were underway to find and train younger prospects. He said emphasis was being placed on identifying and training talented children between the ages of 5 and 15 and that "in the coming years, thousands of new athletes will get opportunities to progress through Khelo India and Emerging Khelo India." He referenced upcoming multi-sport events in the same remarks, noting the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, that "In 2030, India will host the Commonwealth Games," and reiterating that hosting the Olympics in 2036 is an aspiration.
Modi attributed recent sporting improvements to sustained work and structural change, saying: "Sankalp aur sapne ek din mein poore nahi hote (Dreams are not achieved in a day). It takes years of hard work and dedication. In the last 12 years, India has shown patience and worked hard to create a sports ecosystem." He added separately that "A transparent system is in place for sports now."
The meeting included exchanges of memorabilia and officials: athletes presented signed jerseys and a bow from 17-year-old recurve archer Kumkum Mohod, who won two golds (individual and women's team) and a silver in the mixed team event. The contingent was accompanied by International Cricket Council chairman Jay Shah and Indian Olympic Association president P T Usha; Harmanpreet Kaur presented Modi with a jersey signed by the medal-winning women's cricket squad, Smriti Mandhana posed for photographs with the Prime Minister, and golfer Pranavi Urs gave her glove and a golf ball framed.
The men's T20 team, led by Shreyas Iyer, attended the event ahead of its match against the West Indies in Bengaluru on Saturday, while the women's side was present before its T20I against Zimbabwe in Raipur on Friday.
