This is what Indian athletes are going to eat at Games Village during Rio Olympics

One thing that our Indian athletes don’t have to worry about at the Rio Olympics 2016 is food. Yes, they won’t have to bear the typical food of Rio and will get the desi Indian food at the Games Village.

In an effort led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is being ensured that the food menu at the games village includes national cuisine for the first time.

This means our athletes are going to get an array of Indian dishes like dal makhani, vegetable pulao, paneer masala and sambhar to tandoori chicken, egg bhurji, tandoori roti, raita and even sweets such as soan papdi and gulab jamun, Indian athletes can look forward to savouring meals of their choice at the gruelling competition.

"All of this has been carefully put together to make the players feel at home. It has been scientifically proved that the food one eats at home can make you mentally and physically fit," Sports Secretary Rajiv Yadav told ET.

"This time we are flying our players much earlier for them to focus better. We wanted to make sure that they get food they are used to so as to boost their performance." he said.

Earlier, such request was turned down by the Olympic Games organising committee, saying the Indian contingent had always been small and the food would go waste.

But after a series of mails and lot of convincing, the committee made Indian cuisine available at the village.

"We assured them that we will send a big contingent this time, for a longer time, and not just Indian players but every participant from Southeast Asian countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and several other countries will want to eat Indian food and that they must give the cuisine a chance," a senior ministry official told ET.

India is sending its largest contingent ever with 119 participants at Olympics that begin from August 5.

Meanwhile, the push for Indian food is part of the Modi government's Rs 135-crore Olympic Games push that started in January 2015 with the programme Target Olympic Podium (TOP) that included 24-hour control room monitoring, mental trainers, Australian coaches, Dutch scientific trainers and a month-long stay in Rio to get used to the place.

Reportedly, Modi had instructed that the expenditure on energy supplements, mental and physical training, travelling and out-of-pocket allowance for the players was doubled to ensure they put up their best performance at the event.

For the first time India has spent at least Rs 10 crore on almost every sport, especially in potential medal areas.

(Image: Reuters)