Mumbai, Oct. 16 -- Telling the athletes that being in their presence filled him with pride, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met India's Asian Games medallists at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday. In a rousing speech, PM Modi lauded the country's athletes who delivered 85 medals, including 21 gold, at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. "You have made 140 crore Indians proud. The biggest success is to increase the prestige and respect of the Tri-colour. That is what you have done. And that is why your success isn't just yours, but also of the crores of people in the country," Modi said. In the audience among the sportspersons was Union sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya and other dignitaries. The PM was presented with a range of memorabilia - from a bow by 17-year-old recurve archer and double gold medallist Kumkum Mohod, to a glove and golf ball by history-setter in golf Pranavi Urs, to a hockey stick by the women's team. Modi especially congratulated the women athletes. From India's 85 medallists, 38 were women, 11 of them gold medallists. "These medals are not just numbers. They are a strong representation of the new India," said Modi. For the PM, the recent Asian Games were memorable for several reasons. Among them, he said, were both hockey teams winning gold, especially the women's team ending a 44-year wait, and both cricket and kabaddi teams defending their titles. Modi also touched upon archery's golden highs, new records set in athletics, and the long-awaited medals in weightlifting and marathon. Medals in sports like MMA and soft tennis were signs that Indians are also making their mark in other sports. "Today, India is rising in the kind of sports where we had no medals ever at the Asian Games," said the PM. "There was a time when India would win only a handful of medals in big tournaments. There were so many sports that India did not even know about. In more than half the sports at the Olympics, India had no representation at all. We resolved to end this negative mindset. And the result is that on every global platform, we have increasing representation."...