Haryana Government on Monday felicitated the state's Deaflympics athletes with around Rs 6 crore of cash awards.  Cheques were distributed to a total of 15 players including four gold medal winners, two bronze medal winners and nine participants who took part in the Deaflympics in Brazil during a state-level felicitation ceremony organised at Tau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula.

Congratulating the athletes, their families, teachers and trainers, for making the country and the state proud, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that participating in world-class competitions is a great achievement in itself and every athlete who has participated in this Deaflympics have certainly shown their skill, physical ability and mental toughness.   “Clinching as many as four gold medals in the recently held Deaflympics-2021 at Brazil, Haryana players have once again proved why the state is known as Sports Hub. Also, by winning 6 medals, including 4 gold, out of the total medal tally of 16 the country, they have once again proved why Haryana is known as India’s medal factory.  We are proud that out of 65 athletes from India who have participated in this international competition, 15 are from the State,” said Khattar.

On the occasion, cheques of Rs 1.20 crore each were given to Rohit Bhaker, Mahesh, Diksha Dagar and Sumit Dahiya for winning gold in Badminton, Golf and Wrestling respectively. The Chief Minister also gave away cheques worth Rs 40 lakh each to Virender Singh and Amit, for winning bronze medals in Wrestling.  Besides this, Khattar also gave cheques of Rs. 2.5 lakh each to Priyanka, Balram, Yogesh Dagar, Nirchira, Ajay Kumar, Kuldeep Sharma, Asif Khan, Aman and Shubham Vashisht for participating  in this international event.

Khattar also inaugurated four state-of-the-art sports facilities built at a cost of Rs.116 crore. These include the Scientific Sports Training and Rehabilitation Center built at a cost of around Rs. 50 crore, Multipurpose Hall No. 2 and 3 built at a cost of around Rs. 50 crore, Hockey Astro-Turf built at a cost of around Rs. 10 Crore and Renovation of Athletics Track  at a cost of around Rs.6 crore. Providing such state-of-the-art sports facilities also plays a pivotal role in the achievements of the players, Khattar.

Khattar said that while realizing the sport's potential in Haryana, the State is geared up to host the spectacular Khelo India Youth Games-2021.