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Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid stress on Thursday on developing sporting talent at the grassroots level and said the Centre has increased the sports ministry's budget by three times since 2014. He also highlighted the importance of promoting millets, popularly known as "mota aanaj", for the better health of youngsters. The prime minister was virtually addressing the "Saansad Khel Mahakumbh" event being held at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and local MP Ravi Kishan were present at the venue of the event. Recalling the time when sports and games were part of village fairs where such activities were organised in the "akhadas", Modi lamented that these traditions are fading away. He referred to the physical education classes in schools that were relegated to "time-pass periods" and said this had led to the country losing three or four generations of sporting talent. Hailing events like "Saansad Khel Mahakumbh", Modi said, "Competitions at the regional
Novak Djokovic clearly is not done dominating his sport. He says so. His coach says so. And, most importantly, his performances throughout a draining run to a record-extending 10th Australian Open championship and record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title, plus his return Monday to No. 1 in the ATP rankings, say so. His message Sunday night, essentially, was: Look out. I still have lots of motivation. Let's see how far it takes me. I really don't want to stop here. I don't have intention to stop here, the 35-year-old Djokovic said after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas, a man more than a decade his junior, by a 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) score in the final at Melbourne Park. I feel great about my tennis. I know that when I'm feeling good physically, (and) mentally present, I have a chance to win any Slam against anybody. Hard to argue. Not only has no man won more major trophies ( Rafael Nadal also has 22; Margaret Court, with 24, and Serena Williams, with 23, are the only players in history with
The Spanish city of Seville will host the 22nd Laureus World Sports Awards on May 6 in a virtual ceremony owing to the raging COVID-19 pandemic. Among the many big names who have had a year to remember and who will be in contention for the awards are Rafael Nadal, Lewis Hamilton, LeBron James, Robert Lewandowski (Sportsman), Naomi Osaka, Federica Brignone (Sportswoman). Fomer Portugal footballer and Laureus Academy Member Luis Figo said: "As a Laureus Academy Member who lives in Spain, I am really happy that the 2021 Awards will be hosted in the country again. "The last was in Barcelona in 2007, which is a long time. A big thank you to everyone in Seville who is making this possible at a difficult time," he added. Juan Espadas, the Mayor of Seville, said: "It is a great pleasure for us to join with Laureus for the 2021 World Sports Awards, especially at such a moment as this for the City of Seville, which is celebrating the 500th anniversary of the first circumnavigation of the Ea