The Government Provided Encouragement to Punjab’s Sportspersons

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): The Punjab government notified the new sports policy of the state in the year 2023 to restore the lost glory of Punjab in the field of sports. Under this policy, for the first time, the players of the state selected to represent the country in the Asian and Olympic Games were given a huge amount of money for preparation. For the first time, the players of Punjab won 20 medals in the Asian Games, which is the highest since the inception of the Asian Games in 1951. They were given a cash prize of Rs 29.25 crore without any delay. The players of the state have now performed brilliantly in the Paris Olympics, which is the result of this new sports policy.

Out of 100 Indian players in Paris Olympics this year, 19 were from Punjab alone. These included 10 hockey players, six shooting, two athletics and one golfer. Apart from this, three Punjabi players participated in Paris Paralympics, including one para athlete, one para badminton player and one para power lifter. Under the new sports policy, a total of Rs 3.30 crore was given to 22 players for preparation at the rate of Rs 15 lakh per player.

In Paris Olympics, Indian team captain Harmanpreet Singh became the top scorer of Olympics with 10 goals, which made Punjabis proud across the world. This year, 11 famous players of Punjab were given PCS and DSP jobs. Out of these 9 hockey players, four players Hardik Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Simranjit Singh and Gurjant Singh were given PCS and five hockey players Harmanpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Shamsher Singh and Varun Kumar and one athlete Tejinder Pal Singh Toor and one cricketer Harmanpreet Kaur were appointed DSP. 'Kheda Watan Punjab Diyan' is being organized to promote sports in Punjab and to extend its scope to villages, along with this, setting up of sports nurseries to train sports talents at village level is also a part of the new sports policy of Punjab government. For the first time, para sports have also been included in the annual event of 'Kheda Watan Punjab Diyan', which includes sports like athletics, badminton and powerlifting. Para athletes from Punjab have also participated in the Paris Paralympics this year, which is considered a matter of pride for the state. The Punjab government has planned to set up 260 sports nurseries in the first phase. Earlier this number was 205, but it has been increased after strong demand from sportspersons and the public. As per the new sports policy, a sports nursery is being set up at a distance of every 4-5 km so that more and more youth can join sports.