Committed towards all sports

Haryana’s evolution as the stronghold of India’s Olympic dreams reflected with 32 athletes from the state participating in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

The Haryana State government won the Best State for the Promotion of Sport honour in the 2022 edition of the Sportstar Aces Awards in Mumbai.

Sandeep Singh, Sports Minister of Haryana, and Pankaj Nain, Director, Department of Sports and Youth Affairs accepted the award. “First of all, this award goes to every single athlete who has brought laurels to the state and the country. Secondly, thanks to our honourable CM (Manohar Lal Khattar) for allocating the maximum sports budget among all states,” Sandeep said after accepting the award.

Haryana’s evolution as the stronghold of India’s Olympic dreams reflected with 32 athletes from the state participating in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. The state’s best moment was captured when javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra (gold medallist), wrestlers Ravi Dahiya (silver medallist) and Bajrang Punia (bronze medallist) rewrote the history books at the Games.

With a sports budget of ₹542.22 crore for the previous financial year, Haryana continued to improve its commitment towards all sports that feature in Olympics, Asian Games, Paralympics, Commonwealth Games as well as rural games.

Its athletes also shone at the Tokyo Paralympics with nine of India’s 19 medals coming from the state. On the international front, Haryana’s athletes have bagged a whopping 976 medals in the last six years.

K. R. DEEPAK Sandeep Singh, Sports Minister of Haryana, and Pankaj Nain, Director, Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, being honoured with the Best State for the Promotion of Sports Award by jury member Bhaichung Bhutia and K. C. Vijaya Kumar, Sports Editor of The Hindu, at the Sportstar Aces Awards in Mumbai.