Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], August 29 (ANI): Addressing the National Sports Day – 2025, a function organised at the Multipurpose Sports Hall Parade Ground on the occasion of Major Dhyanchand Jayanti on Friday, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that sports and sportsmanship provide energy, discipline and inspiration to society. He said that Major Dhyanchand introduced the whole world to India’s sports power with the magic of his stick, according to a press release from Uttarakhand CMO.
“He even told Hitler what patriotism really is. Following his ideals, today under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, our country is also becoming a global sports power, in which Uttarakhand has also geared up to play its role. He said that the Prime Minister is trying to encourage sports culture in the country through programs like “Khelo India” and “Fit India Movement”. Today, our players do not play only to participate in any competition but enter the field with the resolve to win and wave the tricolour,” the CM said.
“Looking at recent examples, Neeraj Chopra created history by winning the gold medal in the javelin throw at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, while the men’s hockey team won the bronze medal after a 41-year wait. Similarly, in the Paris Olympics, Neeraj Chopra won the silver medal, Manu Bhaker won two bronze medals, Swapnil Kusle and Aman Sehrawat won one bronze medal each, and the men’s hockey team brought glory to India by winning its second consecutive bronze medal. In the recently held Asian Athletics Championship, Jyoti Yarajji, Gulveer Singh and Avinash Sable have raised the flag of India by winning gold medals. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has increased the sports budget three times,” he added.
The Chief Minister said, as quoted by the press release, “The grand and successful organisation of the 38th National Games held in Uttarakhand has paved the way to establish Uttarakhand as ‘Devbhoomi’ as well as ‘Khelbhoomi”. In this year’s National Games, our players created history by winning 103 medals and securing 7th position in the National Games for the first time. Now world-class sports infrastructure has been developed in the state. “
Uttarakhand has become capable of organising not only national but also international sports competitions. Recently, the country’s only Olympic-standard Himadri ice rink has been renovated. As a result, international-level competition has been organised in this ice rink, which is not only a matter of pride for our state but has also proved to be a milestone in ushering in a new era of winter sports in India.
“The state government is also going to implement a ‘Sports Legacy Plan’ soon, under which 23 sports academies will be established in eight major cities of the state. Every year, 920 world-class athletes and 1000 other players will receive high-level training in these academies. The state government is setting up Uttarakhand’s first sports university in Haldwani and a women’s sports college in Lohaghat,” Dhami added.
Under the new sports policy, medal winners at the national and international level are being given the facility of government jobs. Along with this, facilities like free training and education to the players studying in residential sports colleges, and sports scholarships are also being provided to encourage talented youth.
The state government is also working to encourage the emerging young players of the state through programs like ‘Chief Minister Sports Development Fund’, ‘Chief Minister Khiladi Protsahan Yojana’, ‘Chief Minister Udiyaman Khiladi Yojana’ and ‘Khel Kit Yojana’.
While awarding the medal-winning players in various international competitions on this occasion, the Chief Minister said, On the occasion of Sports Day, the state government is providing honorarium of about Rs 16 crore to more than 250 players and their trainers. Among the players being honoured, Mandeep Kaur, Amisha Rawat and Manoj Sarkar, who participated in the Paris Olympics 2024, have been given an honorarium of Rs 50 lakh each.”
Shaurya Saini and Abhinav Deshwal, who brought glory to the country by winning gold medals in international competitions, were awarded an honorarium of Rs 30 lakh each. Apart from this, an amount of about Rs 5.5 crore was also provided to 3,900 players under the “Mukhyamantri Udiyaman Khiladi Unnayan Yojana” and 2,199 players under the “Mukhyamantri Protsahan Yojana” for their monthly scholarship.
The CM concluded by saying, ” India has started efforts to host the Commonwealth Games in 2030, so the Sports Department and young players will have to start preparing for it from now on. On this occasion, the Chief Minister announced to build an athletic synthetic track in the Parade Ground and lay synthetic football turf in the Pavilion Football Ground. On this occasion, he also provided out-of-turn appointment letters to Manasi Negi in the Sports Department and Mohammad Arshad in the Police Department, who won medals in sports events.” (ANI)
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