Govt to honour 1,140 players

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 14

Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Anil Vij said that 1,140 sportspersons, who have won medals or participated in national and international level sports competitions, would be honoured at district-level functions to be organised on the occasion of Independence Day. He said the Governor, the Chief Minister, and ministers would be chief guests in the Independence Day functions where they would distribute about Rs 36 crore to such sportspersons.

He said 22 sportspersons from Haryana, who have won medals in the Commonwealth Games, would be given Rs 21.50 crore and the five participants would get Rs 37.50 lakh.

Vij said that cash prizes of about Rs 3.53 crore would be given to 61 sportspersons who had won medals in international competitions during 2016-17. Similarly, about Rs 10.46 crore would be distributed to about 1,050 sportspersons who had won medals or participated in national level competitions during 2016-17.

The Sports and Youth Affairs Minister said that from 2014 to 2017, the present state government has distributed about Rs 176.21 crore to 7,471 sportspersons. Of these, Rs 29.67 crore was distributed to 1,786 sportspersons in 2014-15 and Rs 92.14 crore to 3,579 sportspersons in 2015-16. Similarly, Rs 54.40 crore was distributed to 2,106 sportspersons in 2016-17.

Vij said the government had not only framed new sports policy for encouraging the sportspersons, but also provided jobs to them on merit basis. This has boosted morale of sportspersons and they are focusing more on sports, he added.