CHANDIGARH: Asserting that our preparation for Olympics was on right track, Sports Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi on Saturday expressed confidence Punjab athletes would once again bring laurels for the country in the Games to be held next year in Japan.
Interacting with a group of 9 super talented budding players specially identified for high level training and facilities, Sodhi assured them of fulsome government support and facilities in run-up to their preparations.
The players which have been identified by Director Sports DPS Kharbanda include Utkarsh (Archery), Lalit Jain (Archery), Devinder Singh Kang (Javelin), Arshdeep Singh Junior (Javelin), Raj Singh Rana Junior (Javelin), Tanvir Singh (Shotput), Twinkle Chaudhary (Athletics), Gurinder Vir Singh (Athletics) and Lovepreet Singh (Athletics).
We will take care of their financial and logistics of these rising stars, the Director DPS Kharbanda said sharing details of programme under which these players have been selected for special training.
Accompanied by Principal Secretary Sports & Youth Affairs Anurag Verma, Director Sports DPS Kharbanda, Vice Chancellor of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh Punjab Sports University (MBSPSU) Lieutenant General (Retd.) Dr. Jagbir Singh Cheema and Director Punjab Institute of Sports (PIS) Group Captain (Retd.) Amar Deep Singh, Sports Minister said that the Punjab Government is keen on seeing Punjab feature among the top states in the Indian medal tally of Olympics.
The plan to make Punjab a sporting powerhouse is already at various stages of implementation with "Catch-them-Young" being the guiding motto. Many youngsters have been identified and the department has started talent scouting at the grassroots level. Top coaches are being roped in to hone talent and prepare them for the big league.
With a bottom-up approach, Rana Sodhi highlights how focused efforts are being made to create a sporting culture in Punjab through various national programs like Khelo India, Fit India movement, besides injecting measures for grassroots level motivation. He said that India especially Punjab does not have any shortage of human resources or of talent in the country. However, specific efforts are required to make sports as a career option with pride and respect.
Discussing about the measures being taken during COVID-19 pandemic, the Cabinet Minister said that Covid-19 break has given the much-needed time to plan the goals better and prepare everything-from coaching modules to sports development plan.