New Delhi, Jan 11 (IANS): Former India captain Bhaichung Bhutia lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in attendance at the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue and National Youth Festival, for the support and attention he has shown on Sports. The football great believes the Sports and Education Ministries need to work hand in hand, for the country to truly develop as a sporting nation.

“It is a great initiative taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Sports Ministry and I hope it is the start of India becoming a sporting nation. My suggestion is that the Ministry of Sports and the Ministry of Education will have to work together for India to become a sporting nation.

“Our education policy needs to be changed to be a more sports-friendly curriculum. Today our education system is more academic based, pressuring kids to become engineers, doctors, and bureaucrats. We need to make certain changes to bring equal opportunity for sports so that we can support the talented kids to become future sporting heroes,” Bhaichung told IANS.

The discussion was held at Bharat Mandapam and brought close to 3,000 people, from different fields, from all across the country in what was a truly innovative experience.

After retirement, Bhutia had a decade-long stint in politics, he started through the ruling TMC in West Bengal as he was named as its candidate for the Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat before becoming the vice-president of the Sikkim Democratic Front. After his defeat in the assembly elections in Sikkim in 2024, his sixth electoral defeat, he decided to quit politics.

Bhutia said he believes the values and learnings of sport are ones that he carries through life and also that athletes are well versed for a career in the field.

“All the success of a sportsperson comes through sincerity, honesty, hard work, and dedication. There’s no shortcut to success in this field. We need to bring this discipline into everything including politics so that the country can prosper,” he added.