'Nothing like playing football': PM Modi calls Gangtok session with youngsters 'energising'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off his two-day visit to Sikkim with an early morning football session with local children in Gangtok on Tuesday, April 28, describing the interaction as “energising”.

Photographs shared by the Prime Minister on X showed him joining boys and girls for a brief game, with the Lok Bhawan building visible in the background.

“Nothing like playing some football with my young friends in Sikkim on a lovely Gangtok morning! Clearly, an energising football session with these youngsters!” he wrote, alongside images of the interaction.

The visit coincides with official engagements marking 50 years of Sikkim’s statehood. Later in the day, Modi is scheduled to attend the closing ceremony and launch development projects valued at around Rs 4,000 crore, aimed at infrastructure and regional growth.

Alongside the Sikkim events, the Prime Minister will also lead, via virtual mode, the inauguration of sports infrastructure projects across the Northeast. This includes the formal opening of the Meghalaya Cricket Association’s indoor academy at Kurkalang, part of a broader rollout of indoor stadiums in six states.

The initiative is being seen as part of a coordinated push to strengthen sporting facilities in the region, with a focus on year-round training. Officials said the Kurkalang academy, developed with support from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, is expected to boost cricket development by providing modern indoor facilities.

Meghalaya Cricket Association president James PK Sangma described the inauguration as a key milestone, noting that delays in construction had earlier slowed progress. He said intervention from Conrad K Sangma helped expedite completion. “I had requested the intervention… to fast-track the completion of the Academy. I am grateful that due to his interventions, the Indoor Cricket Academy is now ready,” he said.

A critical issue ahead of commissioning was the lack of electricity, which was resolved after power connectivity was secured within 12 days, allowing final preparations to be completed.

Sangma added that the launch “will mean a great deal for our State and the Northeast collectively in boosting cricket in the region”, with plans already underway for training and development programmes at the new facility.