After facing much difficulty, the players of Haryana have proved their mettle in the Tokyo Olympics winning at least 3 medals in individual sports events which brought laurels to the country. In wake of this, the government has conducted a programme in Panchkula to honour the players here on Friday who won medals at Olympics along with the participants. During the program, officials informed that in view of the performance of our players , the Haryana government is mulling over every possible strategy to encourage players. In continuation to this, what has come to surface is that the state government has decided to set up four sports rehab centres to cure the injuries of the players. First centre of its kind will be set in the Panchkula with rest in three different districts.
Apart from this, the state government has come up with a plan to strengthen the sports infrastructure. Following this plan, nine boarding academy of sports will be set up across the state so that the players can be provided with best facilities. In continuation to this, a residential academy for sports persons also will have to be brought into existence. Along with these, 5 sports centres of excellence are most likely to be established. A fact cannot be denied that the players in the state still facing the shortage of resources which requires the state to make sufficient arrangements.
Besides, Khelo India games for players under 18 are scheduled to take place in Feb 2022 and the State Government would spend at least at least 150 crore on the event. It is pertinent to mention that Haryana has sanctioned a total budget of Rs 370 for sports department. Regarding the same, Bajrang Punia, who won a bronze medal at Tokyo Olympics, said here that the players belonging to Haryana succeeded in bringing medals because of its sports policy which proved a crucial factor behind their achievements. Haryana is the sole state which provides cash prizes of 2.5 crore, 4 crore and 6 crore to players who win gold, silver and bronze medals respectively.
It is worth mentioning that encouraged with the success ratio of players at Tokyo Olympics, the state government has planned to ensure the availability of foreign coaches along with psychologists so that they can be prepared mentally as well.