Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu and the Haryana government on Sunday felicitated Haryana’s medalists and participants in Tokyo Paralympics 2020.
Various dignitaries, including Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Sports Minister Sandeep Singh, were present on the occasion at an event held at Northcap University in Gurugram.
During the ceremony, gold medalist Manish Narwal in shooting Sumit Antil in Javelin were given prize money of Rs.6 crore each.
Similarly, Yogesh Kathuniya, silver medalist in the discus throw, got Rs 4 crore, Singhraj Adhana silver and bronze medalist in men's shooting) category got Rs 4 crore and Rs 2.5 crore and Archery bronze medalist Harvinder Singh was given an amount of Rs 2.5 crore.
In addition, Tarun Dhillon, Navdeep Singh ( who finished 4th) and Vinod Kumar, (who missed the bronze medal due to technical reasons), were given Rs 50 lakh each. Similarly, Rs 15 lakh each was distributed as an incentive to the participating players, Aruna Tanwar, Deepak Saini, Rahul Jakhar, Jaideep Deswal, Ranjit Bhati, Rampal, Dharambir Nain, Amit Kumar Saroha, Tekchand, Arvind Malik and Ekta Bhayan.
During the ceremony, the Vice President and Chief Minister distributed prize money of more than Rs 27 crores among 19 medalists and participants of Haryana in the Tokyo Paralympics.
Praising the Haryana Government for supporting and promoting the sportspersons in a big way in the state, the Vice President said that Haryana has performed phenomenally and the contribution of such a small state in the medal tally is unbelievable.
"Having got an opportunity to honour these talented sportspersons of Tokyo Paralympics 2020, I feel honoured,” said the Vice President.
He said that the performance of Team India in this year's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics has been excellent. The country has won the maximum number of 19 medals in various sports, which includes 5 gold medals, 8 silver medals, and 6 bronze medals. A total of 6 medals have been won by 5 players from Haryana, which includes 2 Gold, 2 Silver and 2 Bronze medals.
“Achieving such a historical success in sports is not very easy. It is the continuous practice, dedication, and hard work a player puts during the process which makes them achieve the planned goal," he added.
Congratulating the players for their sterling performance, the Chief Minister, Manohar Lal said that for the first time, the State Government has decided to give Rs 50 lakh each to the players who finished fourth in the Olympics and Paralympics.
He announced Rs 50 lakh each to Tarun Dhillon and Navdeep Singh. He also announced Rs 50 lakh to Vinod Kumar, who missed the bronze medal due to technical reasons.
"The coaches, who groom the medalists, also deserve the reward. Therefore, the state government has decided that in the Olympics and Paralympics, Rs 20 lakh will be given to the coach of the gold medalist,Rs 15 lakh to the coach of the silver medalist and Rs 12.50 lakh to the coach of the bronze medalist," Khattar said.
He said that Paralympic Bhawan is being constructed on 6 acres in Faridabad. The government will develop it as a Paralympic Sports Center with a hostel facility.
Haryana Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Sandeep Singh said that these players have brought laurels to the state and the nation with their exemplary performance in the Tokyo Paralympics.
"These players are the real heroes of the society, who have reached this stage despite so many ups and downs. Not only the State but the whole country feels proud with their unmatched performance," Singh said.
Speaking on this occasion, Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra said that these sportspersons have achieved such a big milestone despite being facing hard challenges in their lives. With their dedication and hard work they showed in the games, now that entire nation is extending respect and honour.
Olympic gold medalist in javelin throw Neeraj Chopra, wrestling silver medalist Ravi Kumar Dahiya and bronze medalist men's hockey team player Sumit also attended the ceremony.
