Weightlifting
and excel. “Cash incentives and job security are drawing more young people towards sports and it is a major reason behind Haryana’s success,” says Vijender Singh, dubbed the Haryana Hunk and an idol for many. “In rural areas, a sportsperson commands great respect and that motivates others to join sports.”
The state government offers the highest cash prizes for international medals to its athletes – an Olympic gold medallist from Haryana gets ₹6 crore. The Union government gives ₹75 lakh for an Olympic gold and the Indian Railways ₹1 crore. Commonwealth Games gold medallists get ₹1.5 crore in Haryana, and it’s ₹75 lakh, and ₹50 lakh for silver and bronze.
It all began when then chief minister Om Prakash Chautala announced a reward of ₹1 crore to each athlete from Haryana winning a gold in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. There was none, but the buzz went far and wide across the state’s countryside and towns.
From Chautala to Bhupinder Singh Hooda to current CM Manohar Lal Khattar, everyone has given priority to sports. Haryana is the only state that offers equivalent cash awards to para-athletes. Deepa Malik, who won a silver medal in the Rio Paralympics, got ₹4 crore.
And there are jobs too. In 2007, hockey player Mamta Kharab and cricketer Joginder Sharma were made deputy superintendent of police. After his Beijing success Vijender Singh was made a DSP in 2008. Till now 19 sportspersons have been appointed DSPS. Many became subinspectors and inspectors in Haryana police. Several other government departments also offered jobs to the athletes.
“Every youth wants a decent career and they know that a decent life is just a good win away. Sports is working as a vehicle for a better life,” says Bhim Singh, Haryana’s first Asian Games gold medallist who won the long jump in 1966.
Hockey coach Baldev Singh, the recipient of the Dronacharya award, is happy with the cash incentives that motivate players but suggests that the government should also build better infrastructure.
“We lack basic facilities. The government needs to work more at the grassroots level. Today whatever the state players are achieving is all because of their personal efforts,” he says.
A dialogue from Dangal, the hit movie, rings a bell here. “Medals ped pe nahi ugte. Unhey banana padta hai … pyar se, mehnat se, lagan se. (Medals don’t grow in trees. They have to be produced with love, hard work and perseverance).”
Mehnat and lagan gave the state its most iconic sporting hero, Kapil Dev, the Haryana Hurricane. The rest is history.
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