Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal felicitated 77 sportspersons under the ‘Mission Excellence Scheme’ here on Thursday. The scheme provides financial assistance to players for training.
At the ceremony, which was held at the Delhi Secretariat, the Chief Minister said the scheme was not just for the people of Delhi but for the entire country because when such sports people win laurels globally not just Delhi but the whole nation will feel proud and celebrate them.
“Just how Delhi government has been delivering on the promises of providing electricity, water, education and health, we are doing the same for sports. Our dream is that India should bring more medals than China in international games. We have made several plans, including building a Delhi Sports University, to fulfil this dream,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
Mr. Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia provided financial assistance of ₹4.39 crore to 77 players from Delhi. This year, according to the government, the number of players selected under the scheme across sporting categories include athletics (25, in addition to para-athletes), badminton, (1), basketball (1), boxing (3), judo (10), karate (4), kayaking and canoeing (1), pencak silat (1), sepak takraw (4), shooting (7), soft tennis (1), swimming (1), tennis (1), wrestling (10), and wushu (7).
Mr. Sisodia also congratulated the players and said that when Delhi’s players achieve success in sports, the government gets encouraged. “Our Chief Minister is always asking us, what else can we do for the players? So we take your feedback. This way, when we do something new for the players, you get encouraged. This is a cycle which is in the interest of Delhi and the country to keep going upwards,” he said.
“You all are Delhi’s promising stars, and Delhi is looking at you. You should play well and bring medals for the country, and we are ready to help you in every way possible,” he said. Mr. Sisodia said that a total of 708 applications were received this year out of which 77 players have been selected by a prestigious expert committee without any interference from the government.
Para athlete Reena said she received a cheque of ₹8 lakh from the government. “I will be using this for my training and I will try to become a player of international level. I will try my best to fulfil CM’s vision for us.”
Junior Judo national level player, Harsh Dalal said: “I never thought that a government could provide so much financial support to the players to prepare and improve our skills. If the government continues to provide us this assistance, we will do our best to bring medals for the country.”
