Vice President Venkaiah Naidu felicitates Paralympians

Gurugram, Sep 19 (IANS) Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu and the Haryana government on Sunday felicitated Haryana's medallists 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 medallist in shooting Manish Narwal, and in Javelin Sumit Antil were given prize money of Rs 6 crore each.

Similarly, Yogesh Kathuniya, silver medallist in the discus throw, got Rs 4 crore, Singhraj Adhana silver and bronze medallist in men's shooting category got Rs 4 crore and Rs 2.5 crore and Archery bronze medallist 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.

The Vice President and the Chief Minister distributed the prize money of more than Rs 27 crore among 19 medallists and participants of Haryana in the Tokyo Paralympics.

Praising the Haryana Government for supporting and promoting the sportspersons 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 Naidu.

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 include 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 in during the process which makes them achieve the planned goal," he added.

Congratulating the players for their sterling performance, 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.

"The coaches, who groom the medallists, 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 medallist, Rs 15 lakh to the coach of the silver medallist and Rs 12.50 lakh to the coach of the bronze medallist," 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.

Speaking on this occasion, Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra said that these sportspersons have achieved such a big milestone despite facing hard challenges in their lives. The entire nation is extending its respect and honour to their dedication and hard work.