Chandigarh, August 31 - Haryana Chief Minister Mr. Naib Singh Saini appealed to the youth to make sports an integral part of their lives and follow the path of discipline, hard work and dedication like the hockey magician Major Dhyan Chand. He also motivated the players of Haryana to win the maximum number of medals in the 2036 Olympic Games.
The Chief Minister was addressing the youth at the 'Cyclothon' program organized on the occasion of National Sports Day in Kurukshetra today.
Earlier, Chief Minister Mr. Naib Singh Saini launched the 'Swachh Kurukshetra, Mera Kurukshetra, Mera Abhiyan' by performing Shramdaan. In this program organized by the Sports Department of Haryana, the youth were motivated to stay clean and healthy by combining cyclothon and cleanliness.
Before participating in the cyclothon, the Chief Minister also launched the website 'Mera Kurukshetra, Mera Abhiyan' on which the people of Kurukshetra can upload photos related to cleanliness and download their certificates.
Chief Minister Shri Naib Singh Saini, while motivating the youth to stay away from drugs, said that drugs are such an evil, which not only hollows out the individual, but also the entire family and society. It not only affects physical and mental health, but also weakens the social fabric.
While paying homage to Major Dhyan Chand on his birthday, he said that Major Dhyan Chand is a source of inspiration for our young players. His birthday is celebrated as National Sports Day so that our players are inspired to achieve the same feat by working hard and with the same dedication as him.
The Chief Minister said that Major Dhyan Chand was a great son of Mother India. Under his leadership, Indians created a golden history of hockey. As a result, hockey got the status of national sport. He took the Indian hockey team to the heights from which we won Olympic gold medals three times. This is a matter of pride for any nation.
He said that the theme of this National Sports Day is 'One hour, on the field of play'. This does not mean that we have to play for an hour only today. It means that we have to give one hour to the game every day so that we can remain physically and mentally fit. Only then will we be able to realize the vision of 'Fit India-Hit India' of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.
Addressing the players, Shri Naib Singh Saini said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has also set a goal to make India a sports superpower in the 2036 Olympic Games. He has also expressed his resolve to hold those games in India. I am confident that at that time, players like you from Haryana will bring glory to the country by winning the most medals. For this, we have already started preparations. Our dream is that every village and every city of Haryana should produce a player who will hoist the flag of India on the world stage. He said that it is the result of the efforts of the state government that today Haryana is called the nursery of sports. The players of the state have brought glory to India at the international level. Be it the Olympic Games, Asian Games or Commonwealth Games, the players of Haryana have hoisted the tricolor high on every front.
The Chief Minister said that the state's players won 5 out of the 6 medals won by the country in the Paris Olympics 2024. Earlier, out of the 7 medals won by India in the Tokyo Olympics, 2020, 4 medals were won by Haryana players. Not only this, our performance in the Asian Games has also been very commendable. In the Asian Games-2022, 82 players from the state participated. In this, 28 out of the 111 medals won by the country were won by Haryana players. Haryana players also dominated in the Commonwealth Games. During the current Commonwealth Games-2022, Haryana players won 20 medals. These achievements are the result of our visionary sports policies. Chief Minister Shri Naib Singh Saini said that the government has taken many steps to bring forward the hidden sports talents up to the rural level. Sports nurseries have been opened in the state to nurture the players from childhood. In these, they are provided financial assistance and training. At present, 1,489 sports nurseries are operating in the state. 37,225 players are undergoing training in these.
He said that players between the ages of 8 to 14 and 15 to 19 are given Rs. 1,500 per month and players between the ages of 15 and 19 are given Rs. 2,000 per month. The state government has framed the Haryana Excellence Players Service Rules 2021 to ensure secure employment for the best players. Under this, 550 new posts have been created in the Sports Department. The government has given government jobs to 224 players. Provision has been made for reservation in direct recruitment of Class-One to Class-Four posts for the players.
The Chief Minister said that Haryana is the first state in the country which gives the highest cash awards to the players who win medals. The government has so far given cash awards worth Rs 593 crore to the players. Apart from this, certificates are also being given to 298 players who performed well. Scholarships are being provided to students who participate in state, national and international sports competitions and win medals. Since 2014, more than 29 thousand students have been provided scholarships worth Rs 53 crore 45 lakh.
The government is also making sports material available to the players. For this, the Haryana Sports Equipment Provision Scheme has been made. Under this, equipment has been provided to 15 thousand 634 players. He said that the state government is providing encouragement and training for sports since childhood. Strong infrastructure has also been prepared in the state, so that the players can get all the modern facilities.
Chief Minister Mr. Naib Singh Saini appealed to the youth to participate in one or the other sport so that they can remain healthy.
On this occasion, Director General of Sports Department Mr. Sanjeev Verma welcomed the Chief Minister and gave detailed information about the activities and achievements of the Sports Department.