BE THERE: PM Modi to flag off 'Run for Rio' in Delhi on Sunday

New Delhi: Five days ahead of the 2016 Rio Olympics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off 'Run for Rio' event at India Gate on July 31. During the event, Modi will also release a publication of SAI on 'Indian Olympic Journey'.

"We want to create a fever of Olympics in the country and keeping that in mind, we will be organising a 'Run for Rio' event from India Gate. When I talked to Prime Minister Modi about this idea, he said he will come and flag off this run. Thousands of people will join the run to give their support to the Olympic athletes," Sports Minister Vijay Goel said earlier.

Around 20,000 school children will participate in the event, which will commence from Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium and conclude at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

Similar runs, albeit on smaller scale, will be held at the regional centres of Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Sonipat, Kolkata, Bhopal, Gandhinagar and Thiruvananthapuram.

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is sending it's largest ever contingent in the history of Olympics at Rio.

Talking about the run, the minister said in a statement, “The objective of the run is to not only demonstrate to our athletes that the whole country is proud of them and wishing them all the best in the forthcoming Rio Olympics, but also to connect public at large, especially children and youth, with the Olympic spirit and power of sports.”

Public broadcaster Doordarshan will telecast the entire event live and also provide live feed to other TV channels.

(With Agency inputs)