T20 HAP-2021 tournament of Professional Cricketers with Disabilities at Tau Devi Lal Sports Stadium, Sector 3, Panchkula

Chandigarh, December 31, 2022: Haryana Governor Shri Bandaru Dattatraya has said that the state government is providing quality facilities to Divyang players at par with normal players under the new Sports Policy. Shri Dattatraya was speaking as the Chief Guest at the prize distribution function of T20 HAP-2021 tournament of Professional Cricketers with Disabilities at Tau Devi Lal Sports Stadium, Sector 3, Panchkula, today.

Shri Dattatraya said that the ‘Khelo India’ program has been started to nurture sports talent, which has given opportunity to the players to showcase their talent. The Central government has also started the TOPS program, under which annual financial assistance of up to Rs 5 lakh is being given to the selected sportspersons.
Shri Dattatraya said that there would be no exaggeration if the Divyang Cricket Tournament is called ‘Maha Kumbh.’ As many as 67 players from different states participated in this tournament. He said that he is happy that our players are performing well in all sports at the international level. The World Cup winning team players Vikrant, Gurudas Rawat and Ravindra Gopinath also participated in this tournament.
Shri Dattatraya said that Haryana has a golden history in the Paralympic Games. In the Tokyo Paralympics, India won a total of 19 medals, out of which six medals were in the name of sportspersons from Haryana. He said that Haryana having only two per cent of the country’s land area has become a sports hub and brought laurels to India.
The Governor said that he is even more proud of all differently-abled youth who have won the hearts of the countrymen by performing well in other sports as well as in competitions like cricket. Not only this, India’s name has been illuminated by winning the World Cup in the cricket tournament held in England. He extends his heartiest congratulations and best wishes to all these players.
He said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has implemented a coach training facility for disabled players and other incentive schemes like normal players. These schemes have yielded fruitful results. Haryana has taken maximum benefit of these schemes and programs. Divyangjan Pension Scheme has been implemented in Haryana, under which they are being given a pension of Rs 2500.
For this reason, the state has also received awards at the national level for the empowerment of people with disabilities. For this, he especially congratulated Chief Minister Shri Manohar Lal. He said that the Haryana government has made the Sports Policy for sportspersons and provided world class facilities to Divyang players at par with other players.

Ambala Lok Sabha MP Shri Ratanlal Kataria, Bhiwani MLA and President of Physically Challenged Cricket Association of India (PCCAI) Shri Ghanshyam Sarraf, Deputy Commissioner Shri Mahavir Kaushik, Deputy Commissioner of Police Shri Mohit Handa, SDM Panchkula Smt Richa Rathi, State Vice President of Physically Challenged Cricket Association of India Shri Ramesh Saini, General Secretary Shri Ravi Chauhan, Differently Abled Cricket Council of India’s Shri Sumit Jain, founder of Wheel Chair Cricket Association Shri Abhay Pratap, Shri CR Swami from ICCL, Shri Mahant Charandas Maharaj, Vice Chairman, Indian Red Cross Society Haryana Branch Smt Sushma Gupta, General Secretary, Indian Red Cross Society, Haryana, Shri DR Sharma, PCCAI national spokesperson Shri Ashok Kumar Bhardwaj and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.