New Delhi, Jun 2 (PTI) Indian Premier League may have gripped entire nation for 44 days but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh confessed he was “not a great fan of cricket” and felt games like hockey and football had far greater significance to the ordinary people of India.

“I am not a great fan of cricket. But it is not a great disrespect to the world of cricket… I do believe that to the ordinary people of our country games like hockey and football have significance than the world of cricket,” Singh said here today.

The Prime Minister was speaking at the presentation of the book ‘Golden Yardstick: In Quest of Hockey Excellence’ by former hockey captain in Olympian Balbir Singh.

He asked Sports Minister M S Gill to recognise the importance of hockey as the national game.

“Indian hockey has seen better days. It has produced inspiring players, inspiring coaches, inspiring captain to recapture that spirit of adventure, which will associate with legendary figures like Sardar Balbir Singh… I hope that Gill Saheb, our Sports Minister, will recognise the importance of hockey as a national game,” he said in a statement.

Courtesy: Press Trust of India