After India's rather drab performance at the recently held Rio Games, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 'task force' which will come up with a comprehensive action plan for effective participation of Indian athletes.
The aim of the task force would be to prepare a strategy for improvement of facilities, spell out selection norms, and better training facilities, and would comprise of both in-house and foreign experts. The next three quadrennial Games, to be held in 2020, 2024, and 2028. Modi made the announcement at a meeting of the Union Council of Ministers at which, he also reviewed the performance of various ministries. Meanwhile, the PMO has asked the Sports Ministry to submit a detailed report on India's disappointing performance at the Rio Games, which is to be submitted by the end of September.
The announcement comes at a time when sports federations are reviewing what happened in Rio. The National Rifle Association of India constituted a four-member committee with Abhinav Bindra as its chairman to examine in a "cold and ruthless manner" the reasons behind the shameful performance. The Athletics Federation of India has also decided to weight the results, while the Wrestling Federation of India has suggested it will focus on young wrestlers for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
