Rameswaram, Jan 6 (Sports News) Olympic sailors KC Ganapathy and Varun Thakkar on Thursday kicked off Prime Minister Narendra Modi's school visit campaign in the Southern part of India by visiting Tamil Nadu's Vivekananda Vidyalaya Higher Secondary School.

Taking Modi's unique school visit campaign ahead, the Asian Championships gold medallists Thakkar and Ganapathy interacted with children on the importance of having a balanced and nutritious diet to build strong immunity and muscles that are important in the life of an athlete.

They also got the students to share their sports resolution for the year 2022 with the audience so they got to hear the experience of upcoming athletes as well.

Besides students for the host school, student representatives of 75 schools from 3 districts of Tamil Nadu also attended the special event and got a unique opportunity to meet the local athletes.

The duo also showed the students a few basic muscle strengthening exercises which are important to have as a sailor and said, "For sailing, you need to have a balance between flexibility and strength otherwise the wind might suddenly change and throw you off your boats.

"So every morning we start our day with either running or cycling to build on our flexibility and then in the evening we to weight training, so we can build upon our strength." The unique initiative is part of the government's 'Azaadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' that was kicked off by Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra in December 2021 and then taken ahead by Olympic bronze medallist Bajrang Punia in the northern region of India.

While the sailors met and guided the school going students to keep the momentum of the 'Meet the Champions' initiative going, the school management made sure that the students followed strict COVID appropriate protocols and wore masks at all times during the Olympian's short visit. 

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News Source : PTI