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UP govt honours Tokyo Paralympics medal winners
Cash prizes of ₹32.50 cr given to players. UP’s first Sports University would be established in Meerut and its construction work would begin soon, says Yogi
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MEERUT UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath and Union sports minister Anurag Thakur felicitated Tokyo Paralympics medallists and distributed cash prizes of ₹32.50 crore, along with citations, during a grand function organised at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology here on Thursday.
Addressing the gathering of players and people, the CM hailed the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for providing a potential platform to upcoming talents in sports through the ‘Khelo India’ and ‘Saansad Khel Pratiyogita’ schemes.
India won 19 medals at the Tokyo Paralympics, where 54 para-athletes from across nine sports disciplines represented the nation. This was India’s biggest ever contingent to the Paralympic Games.
Yogi announced that UP’s first Sports University would be established in Meerut and its construction work would begin soon. “It will be named after great hockey player Major Dhyan Chand,” he said.
Appreciating the growth of the sports goods manufacturing sector under the One District, One Product’ (ODOP) scheme of the government, Yogi said Meerut had taken a leap in this sector. The ODOP scheme was launched in 2018 with a vision to give special identity to districts and linking them with jobs creation.
He appreciated the efforts of the paralympians who won medals in Tokyo, braving odd conditions during the pandemic. He made a special mention of Noida district magistrate Suhas LY, saying: “I posted him in Noida during the pandemic and he did exemplary work in controlling Covid and also worked hard on his sports skills to win a medal at the Tokyo paralympics.”
The chief minister announced a promotion along with a cash prize of ₹4 crore for his achievements.
Sharing changes made in the state’s sports policy to benefit sportspersons, Yogi Adityanath shared that medallist paralympians from across the country had been invited for the felicitation. He announced cash prizes of ₹2 crore for gold medallists, ₹1.5 crore for silver medallists and ₹1 crore for those who bagged bronze.
He also announced ₹25 lakh cash prizes each to six para-athletes from UP who represented the country at the Tokyo Paralympics but could not win medals while cash prizes of ₹10 lakh each were also announced for the coaches of the players.
Appreciating the efforts of Yogi Adityanath for recognising the efforts of para-athletes, Union sports minister Anurag Thakur said: “It was good to see that he invited para-athletes from across the country to felicitate them.” He said seven out of all the medallist paralympians were from western UP and appreciated the Meerut sports goods industry for its contribution in nurturing sports.
Union minister Sanjeev Baliyan, BJP’s former state president Dr LK Bajpayee, MPs Rajendra Agarwal, Satyapal Singh, Vijay Singh and other party leaders shared the Dias with the CM and the sports minister.
They also visited the stalls of sports goods exhibited by the Sports Good Manufacturing Association and appreciated their efforts in nurturing sports and promoting sportspersons.
RS 2 CR PRIZES FOR PLAYERS
Avni Lakhera - Shooting- Gold
Sumit Antil - Javelin- Gold
Manish- Shooting- Gold
Pramod Bhagat- Badminton- Gold
Krishna Nagar- Badminton- Gold
RS 1.5 CR CASH PRIZES
Bhavna Patel- Table Tenis- Silver
Nisha Kumar- High Jump- Silver
Devendra Jhajharia- Javelin- Silver
Yogesh Kathuria- Discus Throw- Silver
Mariyappan Thangavelu- High Jump- Silver
Singhraj Adhana- Shooting- Silver
Suhas LY- Badminton- Silver
RS 1 CR CASH PRIZES
Praveen Kumar- High Jump- Bronze
Sunder Singh Gujar- High Jump- Bronze
Sharad Kumar- High Jump- Bronze
Harminder- Archery- Bronze
Manoj- Badminton- Bronze
Six para-athletes from UP who represented India at the Tokyo Paralympics received ₹25 lakh cash prizes
Varanasi Bhati
Ajit Singh
Deependra Singh
Akash
Vivek Chikara
Jyoti Baliyan
Suhas LY and Praveen Kumar were given cash prizes of ₹4 crore each
