Sports Minister Pargat Singh disburses Rs 11.80 Crore to 3309 players and 10 coaches

Emphasis on spending 10 to 15% of the budget on youth and sports

Chandigarh, December 15

Laying emphasis on spending 10 to 15 % of the national budget on youth especially sportsmen, Punjab Sports Minister Pargat Singh todayvsaid that by spending money on human resources one doesn’t need to spend much money on health services.

Addressing a function here at MGSIPA to hand over a total amount of Rs. 11.80 Crore to 3309 players and 10 coaches of Punjab, Pargat Singh said that China has spent on human resource development which has resulted in an increase in the average height of its people by 2.5 inches in the last few decades.

Encouraging the sportspersons to make more strides in the field of sports, the Sports Minister said that the sports policy of Punjab was being amended as per the need of the changing times. Speaking on the need to get the physical education teachers of Punjab trained from the coaches of South Africa, Pargat Singh said that there was a need to take advantage of the expertise of foreign coaches. Education department and sports department will jointly prepare sports strategy to make Punjab no. 1 in sporting arena once again, added the Sports Minister.

Referring to his sporting background, Pargat Singh also encouraged the players to become role models for the society by sharing their experiences on the field and emphasizing the need for team spirit. He revealed that he is trying to bring all these sports quotas under the sports department instead of the recruitment under 3% sports quota in various departments so that these players can be further trained to make India a hub in the world sports map.

Earlier in his welcome address, Director Sports Parminder Pal Singh Sandhu said that out of the total amount of Rs 11.80 Crore, Rs 9.37 Crore was given to 3309 players and Rs 2.43 Crore to 10 coaches. Out of these, 1298 players were given Rs. 4.84 Crore for the year 2018-19 and 2011 players were given Rs. 4.49 Crore for 2019-20.

At today’s function, Sports Minister Pargat Singh symbolically handed over cheques to 10 coaches and 14 players. Other players got amount directly through DBT.

Out of 10 coaches, Dronacharya Awardee Mahinder Singh Dhillon and Dronacharya Awardee Sukhdev Singh Pannu got Rs. 40-40 lakh each, Badminton Coach Vijaydeep Singh Rs. 30 lakh Singh, Weighlifting Coach Sandeep Kumar Rs. 28 lakh, Suresh Kumar was given Rs. 20 lakh, Hockey coaches Avtar Singh, Gurdev Singh and Yudhwinder Singh got Rs. 16.66-16.66 lakh each and Athletics coach Jaspal Singh got Rs. 16 lakh.

Out of 14 players, Olympian shooter Anjum Maudgil got Rs. 1.12 crore, Arjuna Awardee shooter Gurpreet Singh got Rs 61 lakh, Badminton player Dhruv Kapila got Rs. 15 lakh, fencing players Jagmeet Kaur got Rs. 7 lakh, Ina Arora got Rs 6.57 lakh, Varinder Singh got Rs. 5.30 lakh, Komalpreet Shukla, Anushka, Athlete Navjit Kaur Dhillon, Athlete Kripal Singh, Judoka Jasleen Singh Saini, Kabaddi player Harwinder Kaur and Volleyball player Ranjit Singh were given Rs. 5 lakh each.

Earlier, Secretary General of Punjab Olympic Association Raja KS Sidhu said that this move will create a sports friendly environment in the state in the near future. On behalf of the sportspersons Commonwealth Games bronze medalist Navjit Kaur Dhillon and SAF Games gold medalist Marathon Athlete Rashpal Singh shared their thoughts and thanked the state government and termed this gesture as a motivational factor to achieve more in the upcoming competitions.

Deputy Director Sports Kripal Vir Singh thanked the chief guest and the players and said that if any player’s cash prize was left due to lack of any document then he can submit the required documents to the department.

Prominent among others who were present at the occasion included Hockey Olympian Sardara Singh, International Hockey Player and Olympian Coach Sukhbir Singh Grewal and Arjuna Awardee Athlete Madhuri Saxena.