Mandaviya Echoes Modi's Rallying Cry for Indian Sports
Synopsis
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya amplified PM Modi's stirring pledge — 'We will raise the pride of the tricolour on every field' — spotlighting India's decade-long structural push through Khelo India and TOPS ahead of the next Olympic cycle.
Key Takeaways
PM Modi's quote shared by Minister Mandaviya: 'हर मैदान पर तिरंगे की शान, हम बढ़ाएंगे!' — 'On every field, we will raise the pride of the tricolour.' The Khelo India programme , launched in 2017 , focuses on grassroots talent identification across India.
The Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) , introduced in 2014 , provides elite athletes with targeted funding and foreign training exposure.
Mandaviya holds both the Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports portfolios as a senior BJP minister.
India has steadily increased sports investment to improve medal tallies at the Olympics and Asian Games , framing achievement as national soft power.
Policy watchers are tracking potential updates to the National Sports Policy and funding announcements ahead of the next Olympic cycle.
On every field, under every sky — the tricolour will fly higher. That is the spirit Union Labour and Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya amplified on Thursday, October 15, 2026, sharing a stirring declaration from Prime Minister Narendra Modi that has quickly become a rallying call for Indian sport.
The post quotes PM Modi directly: 'हर मैदान पर तिरंगे की शान, हम बढ़ाएंगे!' — 'On every field, we will raise the pride of the tricolour!' — paired with a crisp English resolve: 'We will do it!' The brevity is deliberate. Six words in Hindi, four in English — and the entire weight of a nation's sporting ambition is loaded into them.
From Grassroots Tracks to Olympic Podiums
India's push to become a genuine sports powerhouse is not new rhetoric — it is backed by a decade of structural investment. The Khelo India programme, launched in 2017, has woven a talent-identification net across districts and states, pulling young athletes out of obscurity and into professional pipelines. Alongside it, the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), introduced in 2014, funds elite athletes with customised training, foreign exposure, and equipment support — the kind of ecosystem that turns promise into medals.
The result has been a visible, if gradual, climb in India's medal tallies at the Olympics and Asian Games. Successive administrations have framed each podium finish not just as an athletic achievement but as a proof point of national capability — and a signal to the world. Sports, in this framing, is soft power with a stopwatch.
A Minister Who Owns the Brief
For Mandaviya, amplifying the Prime Minister's words is also a statement of ministerial intent. As the minister holding the Youth Affairs and Sports portfolio, he is the political face of every funding decision, every athlete welfare scheme, and every infrastructure project that feeds into India's global sporting ambitions. Sharing a PM quote with this energy signals alignment at the top — that the vision is unified and the urgency is real.
With the next Olympic cycle building momentum, attention will sharpen on whether funding commitments keep pace with the ambition, and whether an updated National Sports Policy gives that ambition a formal legislative spine. India's athletes are watching — and so is the world.
The tricolour has been raised on many fields. The pledge now is to raise it on more of them, and higher.
Point of View
The statement functions simultaneously as inspiration for athletes and political messaging for the domestic audience. The real test will be whether the rhetoric is matched by concrete funding decisions and a modernised National Sports Policy.
NationPress
15 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did PM Modi say about Indian sports that Mandaviya shared?
PM Modi's statement, shared by Minister Mandaviya, was: 'On every field, we will raise the pride of the tricolour — We will do it!' It is a rallying call for India's sporting ambitions.
What is the Khelo India programme?
Khelo India is a government programme launched in 2017 to promote grassroots sports development and identify athletic talent across India's districts and states.
What is the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS)?
TOPS, introduced in 2014 , is a government scheme that provides elite Indian athletes with customised support — including funding, foreign training, and equipment — to help them win medals at the Olympics.
What sports portfolio does Mansukh Mandaviya hold?
Mansukh Mandaviya is the Union Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports as well as Labour & Employment, making him the political head of India's national sports policy.
What is India's National Sports Policy?
India's National Sports Policy is the overarching government framework guiding investment, infrastructure, and athlete development. Policy watchers are tracking whether it will be updated ahead of the next major Olympic cycle.
