DW BUREAU / Chandigarh Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer on Saturday called the sports department and sports associations to work together to make Punjab again a leading state in sports. He said this during a meeting with office bearers of Punjab Olympic Association at Punjab Olympic Bhawan, Mohali today. The Sports Minister said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has also a keen interest in the sports and he is leaving no stone unturned to make Punjab the number one state again. Best wishing the sports contingent of Punjab in the 36th National Games to be held in Gujarat next month, Sports Minister handed over a check of Rs 50 lakh for National Games and assured to take up the matter with CM Mann for further assistance. The Sports Minister said that the state government is formulating a new sports policy in which emphasis will be given on giving cash prizes to sportsmen, providing jobs, encouraging young sportsmen. Under the commitment, 'Khedan Watan Punjab Diyan' is being organized by the Sports Department, which will be inaugurated by the Chief Minister at Jalandhar on August 29. About 5 lakh players will participate in these sports competitions, after which the pool of winning players of the state level tournament will be formed who will go on to compete at the national and international level. He also extended an invitation letter to the Punjab Olympic Association and all sports associations. Meet Hayer said that Punjab was number one in national sports in 2001 but then the state continued to lag behind. The state government will now formulate a new sports policies and 220 coaches are being recruited and more posts of coaches will be created and posted at the village, block and sub division level to booster sports department. He further said that there is no shortage of talent in Punjab, only skills need to be polished. Sports budget is being increased by the state government. Priority will be given to providing sports equipment. A review is being done to see the sports structure at the ground level. He said that the solution to the drug problem will be only by creating a sports environment. The sports department is paying special attention to channelize the energy of the youth towards sports. The players who win medals at the national and international level will be given permanent employment. The diet is being increased. If necessary, the sports department will take the services of foreign coaches. Earlier, the president of Punjab Olympic Association Brahm Mahindra announced that Sports Minister Meet Hayer will be made the pattern of the association, after which the sports minister was honored by the association. The executive of the association passed an unanimous resolution on this. The Senior Vice President of the Association, Rajdeep Singh Gill, praised the Sports Minister, Meet Hayer, for personally encouraging the players and showing interest in sports and spoke of taking efforts together with the Sports Department and the Association to take Punjab forward in sports. Punjab Olympic Association Secretary General Raja KS Sidhu welcomed the Sports Minister by thanking him on his arrival at the Olympic Bhawan. On this occasion, Vice President of Punjab Olympic Association Sikandar Singh Maluka, Treasurer Karamveer Singh Sidhu, Executive Member Teja Singh Dhaliwal, Arjuna Awardee Surinder Singh Sodhi, Kushaldeep Singh Kikki Dhillon, K.P.S. Brar, Santosh Dutta, Prabhjot Singh, Maninder Kaur Virak, Ashok Rouni, RK Bali, Arjuna Awardee Jagjit Singh, Principal Secretary, Sports Department Raj Kamal Chaudhary, Director Rajesh Dhiman and District Sports Officer Gurdeep Kaur were also present. (editor@dailyworld.in)