Written by: Express News Service
2 min readChandigarhSep 22, 2012 05:45 AM IST
First published on: Sep 22, 2012 at 05:45 AM IST
When Arjuna awardee Deepa Malik’s name was announced among the sportspersons honoured during a state-level function at Chandigarh on Friday,the reception her father Col. Bal Krishan met from those present on the occasion was more than heart warming. Apologising for her daugther’s absence on the occasion due to her ongoing treatment,Krishan gleefully accepted the award on Deepa behalf amid vociferous cheering from other sportspersons.
Such has been Deepa’s impact on sports.
Despite being paralysed from waist-below and wheelchair-bound,Deepa never let physical disability come between her and her dreams. Her never-ending belief in her herself not only made her an inspiration for others,but she also lived one of her dreams when she took part in the Paralympic Games at London. Prior to that,she won two gold medals in the Asian Paralymallowed her state of being paralysed from waist-below to affect her zest for life. She is just back from Kuala Lumpur where she won two gold medals in the Asian Paralympics Championships.
Apart from Deepa,those present on the occasion were Olympic bronze medallist and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award winner Yogeshwar Dutt,Dronacharya Awardee woman kabaddi coach Sunil Dabas and Dhyanchand Awardee Paralympics player Sukhbir Singh Tokas. Similarly,eight Arjuna Award winners included boxer Vikas Krishan,hockey player Sardara Singh,Kabaddi player Anup Kumar,polo player Samir Suhag,two wrestlers Rajender Kumar and Geeta Phogat,judo player Yashpal Solanki. It was for the first time that any State government has honoured winners of awards presented by Union Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs.
On the occasion,Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said it was a moment of pride that out of 25 Arjuna awardees,eight were from Haryana. So far,Haryana had bagged 75 Arjuna Awards,11 Dronacharya and four Dhyanchand Awards. He also announced that players of the state would be provided training facility from the special trainers of international repute in view of the changing sports techniques,so that the players could further improve on their performance in international events.
He further added that the SPAT Programme would commence from November 8 next year and the online registration for the same would start on October 15.
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