Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships begins in Ahmedabad

Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya said on Sunday that India must strive to organise the Olympics and find itself among the top 10 sporting nations in a decade, as envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was speaking after inaugurating the 2025 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in Ahmedabad, which will see 291 athletes from 28 countries competing for medals. The championship, a qualifier event for the 2026 Commonwealth Games to be held in Glasgow, Scotland, is taking place at the newly built Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in the city’s Naranpura area.

#WATCH | Ahmedabad, Gujarat | Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi attended the opening ceremony of Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships 2025 pic.twitter.com/Pwe3VJue4k

— ANI (@ANI) August 24, 2025

By 2047, when India celebrates the centenary of its independence, the country must become developed and secure a place among the world's top five sporting nations, for which an action plan has been finalised, he said. "Sports are our heritage. About 65 per cent of our 140 crore population is below 35, and the demographic dividend is our capital. To harness this, PM Modi has set a target to become one of the world's top 10 sporting nations in the next 10 years. We also have to move ahead in the direction of organising the Olympics in the next decade," he said.  The country is moving ahead in the sports sector based on 1-year and 5-year plans by putting together "medal strategy, targets and the best action plan to achieve the targets", Mandaviya said. As part of reforms, the government has introduced a policy to prepare the roadmap for the future of sports in the country, he said.

(State Correspondent)