Chandigarh, November 1 - Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal said that Haryana is emerging as a ‘Sports Hub’. Elaborating on it further, he said that a new Sports Policy has been formulated in the state to connect youth to sports.
Now, the National Level Competitions under Khelo India will be held in Panchkula in November 2021 and preparations for these have started from today on the ‘Haryana Day.’ The Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal was speaking at the State Level Haryana Day function at Karan Stadium in Karnal today.
He urged the youth that Haryana is the host of the Khelo India Programme this time. He further added that in the last games the state had come second and the youth should take a pledge to work hard and bag the first position this time and make the country and the state proud. Haryana government will provide exceptional support to the players in this regard, he added.
He first congratulated everyone on the completion of 54 years of Haryana and also administered the oath of Rashtriya Ekta Diwas on the birth anniversary of former Home Minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He said that the youth should today vow and decide to move forward, only then the state will progress. He said that the Haryana Government has taken an initiative to release an amount of Rs 5 lakh to the players out of the amount of Rs 15 lakh to be received by them for the Olympics. This amount of Rs 5 lakh will be released before the player has received the medal at Olympics so that he or she can make appropriate preparations with this amount.
Divulging details of the sports nurseries he said that 525 Sports Nurseries have been set up in the state to promote sports amongst youth. Sports gymnasiums and sports stadiums are being improved so as to develop interest of the people of the village in sports. He said that national and international level stadiums are being built for sportspersons in the cities of the state so that they can get all the sports facilities. He said that the state is keen that Haryana achieve laurels in sports at international level.
He said that the players are seriously injured sometimes and have to go to other states for treatment. To facilitate the players now four Injury Centres are being built in Haryana, out of which work has started at the Rohtak Centre and soon other Centres will also be set up. He added that now the players won’t have to go to other states for treatment. The Chief Minister said that to promote sports in the state, the status of Rai Sports School has been upgraded and given the status of University.
Welcoming the guests, Principal Secretary, Sports and Youth Affairs Department, Mr. Yogendra Chaudhary said that today Haryana has made its place in the country in terms of sports. The state's population is 2 per cent of the country's population, but the players from Haryana win 50 per cent of the medals in the country in sports. This is the result of the Sports Policy of the state.
The Chief Minister expressed condolences on the accidental death of Kabaddi player Ravi Kumar. While addressing a gathering at the Sports Competition Programme held in Karnal, the Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal paid tributes to 20 year old Kabaddi player Mr. (Late) Ravi Kumar of Sek Pathri village, who was killed in a road accident. He said that it is very unfortunate that a sports person lost his life in a road accident.
Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal launched the app released by the Sports and Youth Affairs Department at a function organised on the Haryana Day at a stadium in Karnal. This app is named ‘Khelo Haryana’. Through this app, players will be able to get all the information related to the games and sports competitions while staying at home.
Among those present were Nilokheri MLA, Mr. Dharampal Gondar, Divisional Commissioner, Mr. Sanjeev Verma, Deputy Commissioner, Mr. Nishant Kumar Yadav, IG Ms. Bharti Arora, Mayor Ms. Renu Bala Gupta, former Vice Chancellor Dr. Radheshyam, officers of the Sports and Youth Affairs Department, coaches and players.