Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday felicitated 23 sportspersons from the state who represented the country in the recently held Commonwealth Games at Birmingham with cash prizes worth Rs 9.30 crore. Interacting with the players, Mann reiterated the firm commitment of the state government to restore the pristine glory of the state in the field of sports.
The sportsmen of the state are being honoured with cash prizes to encourage them and other budding players to excel in sports, he said. ''Our sportsmen have brought laurels to the state and now the onus lies on the state government to recognise these achievements,'' he added. A total of 23 players from Punjab participated in the Commonwealth Games. The players won three silver and four bronze medals at the event in Birmingham. Punjab gives Rs 50 lakh to a silver medallist and Rs 40 lakh to a bronze medal winner.
Those who were given cash prizes included weightlifter Vikas Thakur, men's hockey players Manpreet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Hardik Singh, Varun Kumar, Krishan Pathak, Shamsher Singh, Jarmanjit Singh and Jugraj Singh, women cricketers Harmanpreet Kaur, Harleen Deol and Taniya Bhatia. Weightlifters Harjinder Kaur, Lovepreet Singh and Gurdeep Singh and women hockey player Gurjit Kaur were given cash prizes.
Judo player Jasleen Saini, athlete Navjit Kaur Dhillon, cyclists Naman Kapil and Vishwajit Singh were also felicitated. Highlighting the dire need of sports infrastructure to match with that of world level, Mann said, ''We have inherited natural talent to excel in sports and given a chance these players will conquer the world with grit.'' However, he said for this world class infrastructure coupled with professional coaches, diet and other facilities are required. Mann said the state government has already enhanced the sports budget to build new stadiums at villages, from where the natural talent is produced but had been hitherto ignored.
Highlighting the dire need of sports infrastructure to match at world level, he said that we have inherited natural talent to excel in sports and given a chance these players will conquer the world with grit. However, Bhagwant Mann said that for this world class infrastructure coupled with professional coaches, diet and other facilities are required.
The Chief Minister said that the state government has already enhanced the sports budget to build new stadiums at village level, from where the natural talent is produced but had been hitherto ignored. Talking about the sports extravaganza ‘Khedan Wattan Punjab Diyan’ starting from August 29, he envisioned that these games will boost the sporting activity in state by channelising unbounded energy of the players in a positive direction. Bhagwant Mann said that such concerted efforts will bear fruits by providing a platform to the players to excel in arena of sports.
Mann emphasised that to propel sports culture at schools, the state government is recruiting DP and PTI teachers on war footing. Sharing anecdotes with players, he also revealed love for sports and mentioned that he inherited the love for hockey from his father.
The Chief Minister also recalled the names of hockey legends such as Balbir Singh Senior, Surjeet Singh, Dhanraj Pillay, Gagan Ajit Singh and others who had brought fame for the country in Hockey. Terming Gurjant, Manpreet, Akashdeep and others as stars of contemporary times, he expressed hope that the country will conquer the world again with the help of these legends. Recalling the names of renowned Drag Flicker of Holland Floris Jan Bovelander, Tennis Players Martina Navrtilova and Boris Becker, Bhagwant Mann said that sports rules are changing drastically in prevailing times, so we have to adapt with these rules swiftly.
Mann asserted that massive efforts are afoot to revive the hockey team of the Punjab Police, football teams of JCT Phagwara and Rail Coach Factory.