CHANDIGARH: Haryana has been awarded the Best State Award for Promotion of Sports after beating all states, including Odisha which had been winning it for three years in a row. An official spokesperson of the sports department said that sports minister Sandeep Singh received the award on behalf of the state. Besides this, the players of Haryana brought laurels to the state by winning awards in eight other categories as well.
Athlete Neeraj Chopra
This year the jury has selected Haryana as the winner of the award for its role in promoting sports at the grassroots-level and supporting the Olympic movement as well. The jury, headed by Sunil Gavaskar, was particularly impressed by Haryana’s long-standing commitment to sports and the state’s incline towards grooming Olympians.
The Haryana government has been making continuous efforts to promote sports for years. The display of sportsmanship by the players of Haryana in several national and international sports competitions and the awards received in large numbers have proved the effectiveness of the sports policy being implemented in the state.
The government is taking concrete steps to promote sports in the state and attract children towards it. The Haryana government has taken steps like allocating extra budget for sports, ensuring best infrastructure, imparting quality training to sportspersons, giving huge amounts of cash prizes, providing government jobs on merit basis and encouraging youth to perform better in sports of their interest.
Neeraj Chopra from Haryana bagged the Sport Star of the Year and Best Player in Track and Field awards at the function organised by the ACES Sports Star Awards Hindu Group. Best Para Male Sportsperson was given to Sumit Antil; Ravi Dahiya was awarded with Best Sportsperson in Individual Sports; Savita Punia was awarded Best Sportsperson in Team; Indian Hockey Team (Men) was awarded Best Moment in Olympics (Team) and National Team of the Year and Indian Hockey Team (Women) with Best Team Award.