Kevadia (Gujarat), June 24 (Agency) Union Sport Minister Anurag Singh Thakur chaired the two-day national conference of Ministers and Secretaries of States and Union Territories in charge of Youth Affairs and Sports, that took off here on Friday. The conference aimed at bringing together representatives of all states for two days of deliberations, discussions and sharing of best practices was attended by Ministers of Sports and Youth from 15 states and senior officials of the state department of 33 states and union territories. Speaking at the event Thakur urged the dignitaries to make the most of the two-day meeting, calling upon them to use the occasion as a knowledge-sharing platform and bring to the fore best practices of every state so as to build a unified approach to strengthen the sports ecosystem of the country.
“There are several common issues that all states face when trying to develop sports and there are some common solutions that can be found through deliberations. I urge each one of you to actively participate in this forum and work in a unified manner to help India attain the position of being the Top 10 sporting nations in the world,” he said. Harsh Rameshkumar Sanghvi, Minister of State for Sports of Youth Services of Gujarat, also addressed the gathering. He said: “Each of us present here today have come to represent a particular state. We may have different issues, different strengths and different ideologies. But I am sure that when the conference is concluded, at the end of the two days, we will be ready to work as one team so that our country performs as a whole at international platforms.” Sujata Chaturvedi, Secretary Sports and Sanjay Kumar, Secretary Youth Affairs, Government of India were also present at the Conclave, besides senior officials from the Sports Ministry and the Sports Authority of India.