Hooda felicitates Asian Games medalist Deepak

CHANDIGARH: Former Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda felicitated and congratulated Asian Games silver medalist Deepak Punia in his village Mandauthi on Sunday.

Hooda congratulated Deepak Punia, his family and all the villagers and said Deepak has brought glory not only to his village, but also to the country and said that the entire country is proud of him.

“The government should leave no stone unturned in honouring players like Deepak, who bring glory to the country. If Congress government would have been in power today, Deepak would have been a DSP in Haryana Police as per our sports policy,” he said.

Hooda reiterated the demand for increase in the reward for players who won medals in the recent Asian Games. He said during the Congress tenure, the government had made a policy of ‘Padak Lao, Pad Pao’ and a cash reward of up to Rs 5 crore, but even after so many years, the government did not increase the reward amount appropriately. He said the government should give at least Rs 5 crore to gold medalists, Rs 3 crore to silver medalists and Rs 2 crore bronze medals to the Asian Games winning players.