Gill, 74, who was also blamed for the corruption-hit Games, was shunted to the low-profile statistics and programme implementation ministry as the prime minister went to a younger 47-year-old Maken.Maken said his challenge will be to see Indian athletes improving their performance at the international level.
“We have a huge population but that doesn’t reflect on the medals won at the international stage. “We have done well in the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games and I would like to continue the legacy. I will meet officials and then decide on priorities to work on,” Maken said.
Maken, a former speaker of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, is a Congress Member of Parliament from New Delhi and was a minister of state for home affairs. He has also been minister of state in the ministry of urban development.
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