IEP Chandigarh, January 19
In order to fulfil the dream of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to make Punjab the leading state of the country in sports again, the sports department has laid emphasis on comprehensive reforms in the new sports policy. It was stated by the Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer in a press communiqué released after the meeting held at the Punjab Bhawan Chandigarh with the expert committee to deliberate on the draft of the Sports Policy.
Meet Hayer said that the implementation of the new sports policy will fulfil the Chief Minister’s dream. In today’s meeting, it was decided to adopt a scientific method regarding talent search for the selection of players. The Minister also said that the performance data of the players of the state should be collected and analyzed. By identifying the specialized places of various sports in the state, the focus should be on the respective sports there. Besides, the gradation policy should be rationalized, said Meet Hayer.
The sports minister said that a policy should be made to get financial help from corporate houses to create a sportsperson friendly ultra modern infrastructure. Similarly, a platform should be provided for NRIs to sponsor players and teams. Apart from this, the sports department along with the school education, higher education, technical education and medical education departments made a joint sports calendar.
Prominent among others who were present at the occasion included Principal Secretary Raj Kamal Chaudhary, Director Amit Talwar, Arjuna Awardee Hockey Olympian Surinder Singh Sodhi, Dronacharya Awardee and former National Boxing Coach Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu and Vice Chancellor of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh Sports University Patiala Lt. General (Retd.) JS Cheema.
