Chandigarh, August 16- Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal gave the slogan of 'Padak Lao Padak Badhao' to the players of the state. He said that for this the medal winning players will have to prepare 5 to 10 players like themselves. This can be possible when sport is taken up as a career. The Chief Minister said that India has come fourth this time in the medal tally of Commonwealth Games. Our target is to come first in this medal tally and this target can definitely be achieved by the players of Haryana. He also called upon the players of the state to imbibe the five vows as given by Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi. He said that the sports policy and sportspersons of Haryana have also been appreciated by Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister, Sh. Amit Shah.
Haryana is the sports capital of the country, from which the rest of the nation is drawing inspiration. The Chief Minister was addressing a function organized in Gurugram in honour of the medal winners and sportspersons of Commonwealth Games.
Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal honoured the players by giving them cash prizes and mementos. The Commonwealth Games gold medalist was given a cash prize of Rs 1.50 crore, silver medalist Rs. 75 lakh and bronze medalist Rs. 50 lakh. On the other hand, the person who came fourth was given an amount of Rs. 15 lakh. Along with this, an amount of Rs. 7.50 lakh was given to the players participating in the Commonwealth Games. In the Birmingham Commonwealth Games-2022, a total of 29 players including the players of the Indian women's hockey team from Haryana have won medals. According to the sports policy of the state, a total cash prize of Rs. 25.80 crore has been awarded to the players. Along with this, the players were also given job appointment letters.
Festive atmosphere in the entire state due to the achievements of the players
On this occasion, Sh. Manohar Lal said that the players of Haryana have become the talk of the country. Along with this, the incentives and facilities being given by the government from the school level right up till preparations for the Olympics are also being appreciated. There is a festive atmosphere in the entire state because of the achievements of the players. Players have brought laurels not only to Haryana but to India with their sports performance. While winning medals in the Commonwealth Games is a record, participating in these world-class competitions is a great achievement in itself. Out of 215 players participating in this year's Commonwealth Games, 42 are from Haryana. Players from Haryana have won 20 medals out of the country's 61. Of these, 17 medals were won in the individual events and 3 medals were won in the team events. He said that our daughters are performing best in sports.
The players of Haryana have brought laurels to the country and the state
The Chief Minister said that Sudhir of Sonipat district of Haryana has won gold medal in Para Power Lifting. Sudhir is the first Indian to win a gold medal in Para Power Lifting. Similarly, Haryana has won 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze medal in Boxing, 6 Gold, 1 Silver and 4 Bronze medals in Wrestling and 1 Bronze medal in Athletics. Indian Women's hockey team won bronze medal. Most of the players on the team are from Haryana, because 9 daughters of the state are playing in it. Savita Poonia, who hails from Sirsa, led the Indian Hockey team as the captain. In this way, the players of Haryana brought laurels to the country and the state by winning 28 percent of the total medals of the country. If Hockey is also included in this, then it increases to 32.7 percent.
Sports opening new avenues for the youth of Haryana
Sh. Manohar Lal said that the State Government has provided many facilities and incentives to nurture talent. This gave birth to a new sports culture in the state. Sports have opened new avenues for the youth of Haryana, due to which the future of the players is bright in every sport. The State Government has formulated Haryana Outstanding Sportspersons Rules, 2018 to ensure employment for the players. For them, 550 new posts have been created in the Sports Department. Apart from this, 156 players have been given government jobs. Provision for reservation has been made for sportspersons in direct recruitment of posts from class I to class IV. The honorarium of sportspersons who won Arjuna, Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand Awards has been increased from Rs. 5,000 to Rs 20,000 per month. Rs. 20,000 per month will be given to Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award winners and Rs. 5,000 per month to Bhim Awardees.
Excellent sports infrastructure developed
The Chief Minister said that in order to develop sports culture in the state, excellent sports infrastructure has been prepared for sports from village level to state level. In the last eight years, the government has spent about Rs. 526 crore on the development of sports infrastructure in the state. In order to develop sports culture among children, 1,100 sports nurseries are being opened in the state. This will benefit about 25,000 budding players of the state. A scholarship of Rs. 1,500 per month will be given to the players between the age group of 8 to 14 years and Rs. 2,000 per month to the players between the age group of 15 to 19 years taking training in these nurseries. The state government is working on the policy of grooming the players since childhood. He said that work is on to develop Sports University at Rai in Sonipat.
Highest cash prize money for medal winning players
Notably Haryana is the first state in the country, which gives maximum cash prize money to medal winning players. Haryana State Development Fund has been formed to provide cash prizes and other facilities to medal winning sportspersons in the state. Cash prizes worth more than Rs. 335 crore have been given to the players. In the Olympic Games, provision of a cash prize of Rs. 6 crore has been made for the gold medalist, Rs. 4 crore for the silver medalist and Rs. 2.5 crore for the bronze medalist. Haryana is the first state in the country, which has made arrangements to give an advance amount of Rs. 5 lakh to the player for preparation as soon as they qualify for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Provision has been made to give cash prizes at par with normal sportspersons for Paralympic medal winners and Para sportspersons participating in Olympic, Asian, Commonwealth and National sports events. A new policy has also been implemented for the mountaineers of the state who climb the world's 10 highest mountain peaks. Now the climbers will be given a cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh and a Grade-C certificate in the sports category.
Additional Chief Secretary, Sports and Youth Affairs Department, Dr. Mahavir Singh delivered the welcome speech. Haryana Transport Minister, Sh. Mool Chand Sharma, Haryana Co-operative Minister, Dr. Banwari Lal, Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs, Sh. Sandeep Singh, MP, Sh. Kartikeya Sharma, MLAs, Sh. Satya Prakash Jaravata, Sh. Nayan Pal Rawat, Sh. Somvir Sangwan, other dignitaries and officers were present.