New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, 15 October 2026, met India’s Asian Games 2026 contingent at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium. He praised medal winners, coaches and families, and said the government has put more than Rs 36000 crore into expanding Khelo India and strengthening sports federations.
The speech text on the Prime Minister’s Office site and reports from The New Indian Express and DD India match on the main numbers and quotes. Here is a plain summary of what was said about Asian Games results and the Khelo India push.
Table of Contents
Khelo India and Asian Games: the key facts
- Event: Modi met Asian Games 2026 athletes in New Delhi on 15 October 2026.
- Funding line: more than Rs 36000 crore allocated to expand Khelo India and strengthen sports federations, Modi said.
- Medal tally cited: India won 85 medals at the Games, including a strong showing by women athletes (38 medals, 11 of them gold).
- Support schemes named: Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), with a monthly out of pocket allowance of Rs 50000 for supported athletes, plus help for overseas coaching.
- Grassroots: more than a thousand Khelo India Centres, plus stadiums, tracks, grounds and pools across cities and towns.
What Asian Games results did Modi highlight?
Modi called the Games memorable for India in many ways. He pointed to gold medals for both the men’s and women’s hockey teams, with the women’s side ending a 44 year wait for Asian Games gold. He noted consecutive medals for both cricket teams, gold for men’s and women’s kabaddi, and five gold medals in archery.
He also praised shooting, boxing and wrestling, new athletics records, a weightlifting medal after 28 years, and the first marathon success since 1982. First time medals in areas such as mixed martial arts, soft tennis and some sailing events were listed as proof that India is winning in sports where it had never medalled before at these Games.
Women athletes and young talent
Women won 38 of India’s 85 medals, including 11 gold, according to the figures Modi used. He said that result was more than a scorecard and pointed to confidence among women in sport. He also praised athletes aged about 15 to 17 in the contingent and said talent must be found early.
He described plans to identify and train children from about age five to 15 through Khelo India and Emerging Khelo India work. The slogan he led with the room was “We will do it,” which athletes repeated with him.
Khelo India funding and TOPS support
“To expand Khelo India and strengthen sports federations, more than 36 thousand crore rupees were allocated,” Modi said, as quoted by DD India and The New Indian Express. He linked that spend to a wider push over the past 10 to 12 years for a clearer and more modern sports system.
Under TOPS, he said athletes can get Rs 50000 a month as an out of pocket allowance, and that the government helps when training abroad is needed. He also named Winter Games, Sansad Khel Pratiyogitas and a new Khelo Bharat Niti as ways to widen participation. Divyang athletes, he said, show why steady national support matters across a full sporting career.
Looking to 2028, 2030 and 2036
Modi tied the Asian Games moment to coming targets: the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, India hosting the 2030 Commonwealth Games, and the aim to host the 2036 Olympics. He recalled a Red Fort line about a village level talent hunt so that future medalists can come from many parts of the country.
Readers following the Olympic bid story can see our earlier report on India’s 2036 Olympics bid and Rising Together vision. Team sports depth also matters: kabaddi golds fit a longer national story, which we cover in the invention of Kabadi. Individual Olympic history still inspires new athletes, including profiles such as Saina Nehwal, Olympics medal winner.
What remains open
The Rs 36000 crore figure is the amount Modi said was allocated for Khelo India expansion and federation support. The speech did not break it into a year by year budget table in the reports used here. Exact final medal tables by sport beyond the examples he named should be checked against the official Games results when citing sport by sport detail.
Hosting the 2036 Olympics remains an aspiration under discussion with the International Olympic Committee, not a confirmed award. That distinction is important for readers.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Minister of State Raksha Khadse were among those present, according to the PMO framing of the event. Modi reminded athletes that the stadium carries the name of hockey great Major Dhyan Chand, known for long practice sessions. Hard work over many years, he said, is how big goals are met, not in a single day.
He also argued that India once had little presence in more than half of Olympic events and that the first step is simply to compete widely. The Asian Games haul, in his telling, shows that mindset changing as more athletes reach the start line in more sports.
FAQ
How much did Modi say was allocated for Khelo India?
More than Rs 36000 crore to expand Khelo India and strengthen sports federations, he told the Asian Games contingent on 15 October 2026.
How many Asian Games medals did India win?
Modi cited 85 medals in total, with women winning 38 of them, including 11 gold.
What is TOPS?
The Target Olympic Podium Scheme. Modi said it includes a monthly out of pocket allowance of Rs 50000 for supported athletes and help for coaching abroad.
Where and when did he speak?
At the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi on 15 October 2026, meeting the Asian Games 2026 contingent.
Sources
- Prime Minister’s Office (pmindia.gov.in), 15 October 2026: full address text for the Asian Games 2026 contingent interaction.
- The New Indian Express, 15 October 2026: Modi quotes; 85 medals and women athletes’ share; hockey, cricket, kabaddi, archery and other highlights; Khelo India Rs 36000 crore line; TOPS allowance; centres and future Games.
- DD India, 15 to 16 October 2026: same funding quote; TOPS and overseas coaching; medal examples; women athletes’ 38 medals; Los Angeles 2028 and later goals.
- Gulf News, 15 October 2026: meeting context and young athletes including Vaibhav Sooryavanshi reaction (colour only; core figures from PMO, NIE and DD India).