Chandigarh, January 29- Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal extended warm wishes and boosted the morale of players of the State on the occasion of National Sports Day and the birth anniversary of veteran hockey player Major Dhyan Chand.

The Chief Minister, through video conferencing held a meeting with district sports Officers and Senior Officers of the sports department. Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs, Mr. Sandeep Singh was also present in the meeting.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Manohar Lal said that it is the effort of the government that Haryana achieves number one position in the field of sports.

He said that the government is constantly providing facilities to the players. Efforts are being made to provide sports facilities to the youth at the rural level. Due to this effort of the government, many international level talents have emerged from rural areas, who have performed exceptionally well all over the world.

During the video conferencing, Minister of State, Mr. Sandeep Singh extended greetings to the sports fraternity on the birth anniversary of Major Dhyan Chand.

He said that with the guidance and support of Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Mr. Kiren Rijiju, constant efforts are being made to make Khelo India-2021 a success.

During the last Khelo India organized in Guwahati, Assam, he had himself visited there and took stock of the situation, so as to ensure that preparations can be done properly in Haryana for organizing the Khelo India 2021 games.

He said that ample staying arrangements can be made for the players in Tricity including Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali.

Players from all across the country will arrive in Panchkula to participate in Khelo India 2021. The efforts will be made to ensure that no inconvenience is caused to any player.

The Minister directed all District Sports Officers that work should be started immediately on the games which can be improved.

The Sports Minister said that in order to overcome the problem of economic expenses faced by the players for the preparation of Olympics and Paralympics, the State Government has recently announced to give Rs. 5 lakh in advance after they get selected.

He said that in the government's Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign, priority is also being given to inspire girls to participate in sports and it has been recently decided that a women coach and manager will be appointed for women’s team so that while playing out of station Women players do not feel uncomfortable. The women players and their parents had welcomed this decision.

On this occasion, Dronacharya Awardee Hockey Coach, Mr. Harendra Singh also shared his views on promotion of Gamesin Haryana. He said that the morale of Haryana players is very strong. Many players worked hard even during the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic to ensure that their practice does not get affected. Players with such determination always bring laurels to the country, he said.

On this occasion, Senior officers of the Sports Department and DSO participated in the meeting.