India will be among top medal winners at 2028 Olympics: Rathore

Panaji: Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore Tuesday said India will be amongst the top medal-winning nations in the 2028 Olympics.

The minister also said that 2018 has turned out to be the best year for India in terms of sporting achievements.

"I have tremendous hope and belief in the Indian youth and their ability to dominate the world. We have begun the process. The wheels are turning," said the former Olympic silver medallist. He was talking to reporters after participating in an event organised by Sesa Football Academy, an initiative of Vedanta Inc, at Sankhalim village near here.

"The 2020 (Tokyo) Olympics is very close. We will do our level best there. We will exactly know even before entering the playing arena, how many medals we will win.

"My target is Olympics of 2024 and 2028. The way we are progressing now, India would be amongst the top medal winners at the 2028 Olympics," said Rathore. The 2024 Summer Olympics is scheduled to be held in Paris and the 2028 quadrennial games will be held in Los Angeles. He said Indian players have left their mark on various sporting events in the present year. "Every single international competition... Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, Para Asian Games, Youth Olympic Games... in each of these games, India has created history by winning the largest ever number of medals."