Punjab to organise sports event to catch sporting talent
Punjab wants to be ahead in the game. Encouraged by the Punjabis’ performance at the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the state is poised to organize a two-month-long “Punjab Khed Mela” to capture the state’s sporting talent, starting August 29 – the birthday of Major Dhyan Chand.
The state’s sports minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer pointed out that the Punjabis have won medals not only for India but also for other countries like Canada and England during the Commonwealth Games. “The Punjabi players have won medals for Canada and England in the CWG. Medalists Amarveer Dhesi and Mandhir Koonar hail from Jalandhar but won medals for Canada and England respectively. In fact, six players on Canada’s ice hockey team are Punjabis,” Hayer said.
Hayer maintained that there was no shortage of talent in Punjab, but players needed a platform. “18 players from Punjab have won medals at these Commonwealth Games,” he said announcing the organization of Punjab Khed Mela.
“We will take Punjab’s talent to the medal. That’s why we organize these games for players from the category under 14 years old and even for players over 50 years old. We will identify the talent directly at the block level and help them grow,” said Hayer.
He added that in order to promote sport in the state, he also met Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur last week and sought the centre’s support to do so.
“Punjab’s players have a wealth of talent that needs to be identified and polished. Every village and city of Punjab would be caught up in this sporting event,” the minister said, adding that the state government is leaving no stone unturned to rejuvenate sporting culture in the state.
The Minister congratulated the Indian sports contingent who excelled at the Commonwealth Games and said the Chief Minister had announced cash prizes for the 18 Punjab players who bagged medals. The state players won three silver and four bronze medals. The silver medalists would receive 50,000 rupees each while the bronze medal winners would receive 40,000 rupees.
The men’s field hockey team, which won a silver medal in Birmingham, had 11 players from Punjab – Captain Manpreet Singh, Harmanpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Varun Kumar, Shamsher Singh, Hardik Singh, Krishan Pathak, Germanpreet Singh, and Mandeep Singh.
The women’s cricket team that won a silver medal had two players – Harmanpreet Kaur and Tania Bhatia; On the women’s hockey team, a Punjab player, Gurjeet Kaur, took bronze.
In weightlifting, Vikas Thakur took silver, while Harjinder Kaur, Lovepreet Singh and Gurdeep Singh bagged bronze.
Sharing details of the Punjab Khed Mela sporting extravaganza, Hayer said it will be launched by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to mark Major Dhyan Chand’s birthday on August 29 – National Sports Day – in Jalandhar.
The minister said that in the Khed Mela, over four lakh players from block to state level in the age groups U-14, U-17, U-21, 21-40 years, 40-50 years and over 50 years would showcase their skills in the recognized sports included in the gradation list.
The sports festival would last for two months and interested players can register online from August 11th to 25th.
The sports festival would also include parasports events. The national level gold, silver and bronze medal winners would receive Rs 10,000, Rs 7,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively plus a certificate. A total prize money of Rs 6 crore would be awarded.
All winning players would fall under the state’s downgrading policy. The dope tests of the winners as well as the other players would also be conducted.