New policy to be formulated for national-level players: Himachal CM

Sukhu said the state government has taken several initiatives to promote sports and players and basic sports infrastructure was being developed at the district level

Himachal government will formulate new policy for the national level players, said chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday while addressing a contingent of state players heading to the 38th National Games being held in Uttarakhand.

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (HT File)

The 200-member contingent will participate in the games scheduled from January 28 to February 14.

Sukhu said the state government has taken several initiatives to promote sports and players and basic sports infrastructure was being developed at the district level. Additionally, the prize money for a podium finish in International sports events have been significantly increased.

The CM emphasised his commitment to the welfare of players, highlighting that he himself was a sportsperson and could not overlook the needs of athletes.

He said that earlier under-17 and under-19 players were receiving ₹150 as diet money for state-level competitions and ₹250 for national competitions, now this amount has been increased to ₹400 and ₹500, respectively, by the present state government.

Sukhu said that state government in June 2024 had increased the prize money for gold medallists in the Olympics, Winter Olympics and Paralympics from ₹3 crore to ₹5 crore. Similarly, for silver medallists, the prize money was increased from ₹2 crore to ₹3 crore and for bronze medallists from ₹1 crore to ₹2 crore.