PM Modi Praises Odia Hockey Star Defender Birendra Lakra

PM Modi Praises Odia Hockey Star Defender Birendra Lakra

India’s star defender and Odisha’s pride Birendra Lakra has impressed everyone with his excellent skills on the hockey turf. Even Prime Minister Modi couldn’t stop himself from praising the ace athlete. He appreciated the contribution of Lakra to Indian hockey. Lakra recently retired from the sport after an illustrious career.

In a touching letter to the ace player, the Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to Lakra. He wrote ‘You began playing hockey at a time when no Indian could imagine our nation would win an Olympics medal in the near future. You also continued the glorious tradition of Odisha producing outstanding hockey players, particularly defenders.

PM Modi said that hockey was not considered to be the most glamorous of sports. Yet, things changed so soon and the credit for such a positive transformation goes to players like Lakra, who kept the faith and worked hard for the regeneration of Indian hockey.

One of the things the coming generation of athletes can learn from you is a spirit of resilience. It is remarkable how you have always remained humble despite scaling soaring heights of success, Modi wrote in the letter.

Recalling his meeting with the defender and the rest of the country’s Tokyo 2020 contingent, the Prime Minister urged Lakra to strengthen India’s Amrit Mahotsav by visiting various schools or colleges by August 2023. I had requested you all to do so in order to spread awareness on eliminating malnutrition and to encourage sports. I sincerely hope you would consider doing this in the coming months and motivate others to do the same, said the Prime Minister.

I can sense the pain when you wrote in your post that the thought of not sharing the dressing room with your teammates is unimaginable but I am confident you will remain connected to this beautiful game and encourage the coming crop of players, the letter stated.

Lakra with his stellar defence helped India clinch the historic Bronze in the Tokyo Olympics, which was the country’s first medal in hockey after over 4 decades. He was a vital cog of the team’s backline for over a decade during which he won a Silver Medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He recently hung up his boots after playing over 200 international matches for India.

The Olympian said on Saturday that he was overwhelmed by the appreciation of the Prime Minister. “We athletes contribute our life to the sport and when it is acknowledged by the PM of the country, it feels like we have really done our bit for nation-building. Heartfelt thanks to PM Modi for his warm gesture. The time spent with you at the interaction after Tokyo 2020 will always remain memorable,” Lakra wrote in a note on the social media platform Facebook.