Sukhbir Badal announces Rs.25 lac to ACT
Goldies

Punjab Deputy Chief Minster-cum-Sports Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today announced a cash award of Rs.25 lakh to the Indian hockey team which lifted the Asian Champions Trophy by defeating arch rivals Pakistan 4-2 on penalties in the final in Ordos (China) last Sunday.

In a statement, Sukhbir Badal, who is also Hockey Punjab president, congratulated the “national heroes for bringing this rare honour to a nation starved of sporting glory. We are indeed very proud of our boys who toiled day and night to win back glory in hockey, the traditional Indian sport. I am all the more proud because seven members of the champions team belong to Punjab.”

Sukhbir Badal also lashed out at the Government of India for “ridiculing and humiliating the hockey heroes by announcing a petty award of Rs 25,000 which has been justifiably turned down by the victorious boys. If the Centre did not know how to honour the national heroes who turned back formidable challenges in the international arena, the least it could have done was to just let the boys go home without insulting them. We will take care of them. They are our national heroes,” said Sukhbir Badal.

The Deputy Chief Minister also said that the Punjab Government has initiated concrete steps to boost hockey which is our national game. “We have set up state-of-the-art seven new hockey stadia in the state with all modern facilities for training-cum-competitions. Last year, the Punjab Government had hosted a four-nation hockey tournament in which the major hockey powers took part. We propose to take it further from there and organize another international hockey tournament this year.”

Article Courtesy: Balbir Singh