HOA to honour Haryana medal winners in Melbourne

Chandigarh, Apr 3 (UNI) The Haryana Olympic Association (HOA) will honour sportspersons from the state who won medals in the recently concluded Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

This was announced here by HOA president Abhey Singh Chautala while speaking on the opening ceremony of the 26th Cadet National Wrestling Championship being held at the Ch Bharat Singh Memorial Sports School in Nidani (Jind) yesterday.

He said, ''The HOA will honour the Haryana medal winners in Melbourne with cash awards at a function very soon. The association will also provide all facilities and financial assistance for training and participation in the national and international events.'' Chautala also urged the Haryana Government to double the cash prize amount to the sportspersons who bring laurels to the state by winning medals in international events.

''The present cash prize amount was fixed by the previous government six years back. It needs immediate revision,'' said Chautala.

Meanwhile, Wrestling Federation of India president M S Malik informed the gathering that Indian wrestlers had won 268 medals in the international competitions from April 2001 till date.

Malik also urged Abhey Chautala to use all resources for the inclusion of wrestling discipline in the Youth Commonwealth Games in Pune in 2008 and Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010.

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