Punjab announces new sports policy

CHANDIGARH - The Punjab cabinet Sunday evening approved the new sports policy for the state, encompassing sporting disciplines from rural areas to international competition at the level of the Olympics.

The new sports policy provides for an elaborate procedure for selection of potential sportspersons out of nearly 150,000 aspirants through competitions to be held at the block, district and state level under the ‘Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan’ (PYKKA) scheme.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal chaired a cabinet meeting while Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, who holds the sports portfolio, presented the new policy.

The cash incentive for an Olympic gold medal has been increased from Rs.10 million (Rs.1 crore) to Rs.22.5 million (Rs.2.25 crore). For silver and bronze medals at the Olympics, the cash incentive will be Rs.10 million (Rs.1 crore) and Rs.5.1 million (Rs. 51 lakh) respectively.

Coaches of medal-winning players will also get bigger cash rewards of up to Rs.1 million (Rs.10 lakh).

“The sports policy is focused to make Punjab a vibrant leading edge state in the sports arena to create adequate infrastructure, promote rural talent, broad base sports, synergize the activities of sports and educations departments and raise the standards of sports in the state,” a state government spokesman said.

The sports policy will lay greater emphasis on hockey and kabaddi.

An elaborate state-specific system of ranking sportspersons in selected disciplines is being introduced to inculcate a sense of pride and recognition amongst sportspersons, the spokesman added.

Under this system sportspersons in a particular discipline would be ranked every year from 1st to 100th and will be issued a certificate by the sports department.

The policy has spelled out that 10 world class stadiums, equipped with floodlights for hockey, cricket, kabaddi, football, volleyball and handball would be developed at Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Faridkot, Bathinda, Mohali, Sangrur, Hoshiarpur, Mansa and Gurdapsur.

The policy also makes it mandatory for all schools in the state to have at least one period every day exclusively dedicated to sports activities.