Chandigarh (Face2News)
Hockey Chandigarh and Tynor on Saturday felicitated the hockey stars of Tokyo Olympics at a function organized at Hyatt Regency here. Haryana Governor, Bandaru Dattatreya, was the chief guest on the occasion while Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Punjab Sports Minister was the guest of honour.
The five players were given a cash award of Rs 5 lakh each while the two coaches were given a cash award of Rs 2.5 lakh each. Those felicitated included Rupinder Pal Singh, Gurjant Singh, Monika Malik, Sharmila Devi, Reena Khokhar, Shivendra Singh, and Gurminder Singh.
The Haryana Governor, Bandaru Dattatreya while speaking on the occasion congratulated the hockey stars present on the occasion, who had after 41 years after winning bronze brought international acclaim to Indian hockey. He added he was very happy to see that the hockey team had a lot of players from Haryana and Punjab. The Haryana Governor, Bandaru Dattatreya while speaking on the occasion congratulated the hockey stars present on the occasion, who had after 41 years after winning bronze brought international acclaim to Indian hockey. He added he was very happy to see that the hockey team had a lot of players from Haryana and Punjab.
The Governor said under the state sports policy, the government was awarding 6 crore to those winning gold, 4 crore to those winning silver, and 2.5 crore to bronze medal winners. He said the Haryana government had given 23.25 crore as reward to outstanding players, adding that all states should prepare a sports policy to encourage players so that they can perform even better. He said the state government was there to support the players.
The Punjab Sports Minister, Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, said, it was praiseworthy on part of Hockey Chandigarh to felicitate the hockey stars of Tokyo Olympics. Lauding their performance at the Tokyo Olympics, he said, it was indeed a proud moment for this region that the players had shown their excellent performance. Giving details about sprucing up facilities in Punjab, he said, while new facilities would be created in the State, the existing ones will be upgraded.
Karan Gilhotra, President, Hockey Chandigarh, who is also a known philanthropist, while speaking on the occasion said, “It was always the endeavour of Hockey Chandigarh to encourage the players and will continue to promote the sport in a big way. It was indeed a moment of pride for the country, to see our players excelling in the Olympics.” He is heading the Karan Gilhotra Foundation which is actively engaged in the service of community.
Dr. P.J. Singh, Senior Vice President, Hockey Chandigarh and CMD Tynor, thanked the chief guest and guest of honour for their presence, which he said would go a long way in encouraging the players and coaches and assured full support to the hockey players.
Among other prominent office bearers present was Anil Vohra, General Secretary of Hockey Chandigarh, while others present included, Gagan Ajit Singh, Former Hockey Captain, and Tejdeep Singh Saini, Director Sports UT.
ABOUT THE OLYMPIANS
Rupinder Pal Singh (born 11 November 1990) is a professional field hockey player, who currently represents India in the Indian Hockey Team. He plays as a fullback and is known for his abilities as one of the best drag flickers in the world.[1] He represented India in the 2014 Commonwealth Games at Glasgow, 2014 Asian Games at Incheon, 2016 Olympic Games held at Rio de Janeiro, and at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, held at Gold Coast, Australia. He was part of the Indian hockey team that won a Bronze medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Gurjant Singh (born 26 January 1995) is an Indian field hockey player who plays as a Forward. He was part of the Indian squad which won gold at 2016 Men's Hockey Junior World Cup in Lucknow.
Mid-fielder Monika Malik (born 5 November 1993) is an Indian field hockey player who represented India in the 2014 Asian Games and was part of the bronze-medal winning squad.
Sharmila Devi (born 10 October, 2001) who played as forward striker in the Olympics, made her debut in the senior hockey team in 2019. In the same year, she was also included in the Great Britain Series followed by her participation in all the other important Olympic Qualifying Series.
Reena Khokhar (born 10 April 1993) is an Indian professional field hockey player who plays as a forward for the Indian national team. She was a part of the 18-member squad that represented India at the 2018 World Cup making her comeback in the side. At the club level, Khokhar plays for Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy.
Shivendra Singh (born 9 June 1983 in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh), men’s hockey team assistant coach, is a former Indian field hockey player who played as a centre forward in the Indian team.
Gurminder Singh, Chandigarh Hockey Academy under Coach.