State shining at national, int’l levels: Guv

Tribune News Service

Ambala, January 17

Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki today said despite being a small state, Haryana has made its presence felt in various fields, including sports, music and acting, at national and international levels.

Solanki was here today to attend the closing ceremony of the 44th state-level artistic and rhythmic gymnastics championship at the War Heroes Memorial Stadium in Ambala Cantonment.

The Governor said: “Haryana is a state of hard-working people and every 10th solider in the Indian Army is from our state. Daughters of Haryana have proved their mettle everywhere. For their achievements, Bollywood was compelled to make a film on them. In this championship, as many as 281 participants out of the total 680 were girls. This is an example of women empowerment.” Solanki praised Health and Youth Affairs Minister Anil Vij for his efforts and said, “After observing a healthy environment for sports and youths, the Central government had organised the National Youth Festival in Rohtak.”

While the gymnastic team of Ambala won the overall championship, Rohtak and Jhajjar teams won the second and third positions, respectively.

Vij said: “Ambala has a good record in gymnastics. Sunita Sharma and Anju Dua, who belong to Ambala, have received the Arjuna Award in gymnastics while several other players have made us feel proud at national and international levels.”

He said over the last two years, prize money to the tune of Rs 92.40 crore had been distributed among players, who won medals at national and international tournaments. Besides, a sub-committee had been constituted for sports quota appointments in the state, Vij said. Elizabeth, a Russian gymnast, and Jahangeet Kaur from Chandigarh, who played dhol, were appreciated by the Governor for their respective performances on the occasion.