The Rajya Khel Alankaran Samaroh was held at Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Auditorium in Raipur, where Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai honoured the talented players of Chhattisgarh for their achievements in various sports. The event, attended by Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development Tokhan Sahu, Assembly Speaker Raman Singh, several ministers and MLAs, celebrated the accomplishments of athletes from across the state for the award years 2021-22 and 2022-23. During the ceremony, a total prize of Rs 76 lakh was distributed to 97 awardee players for the two award years. Additionally, Rs 60.33 lakh was transferred directly to the bank accounts of 502 medal-winning players. In total, the athletes received a substantial sum of Rs 1 crore 36 lakh 33 thousand. For the year 2021-22, honours were bestowed upon 41 players, including six recipients of the Shaheed Rajiv Pandey Award, six of the Shaheed Kaushal Yadav Award, two of the Veer Hanuman Singh Award, eleven of the Shaheed Pankaj Vikram Samman, five of the Shaheed Vinod Choubey Samman, and eleven players for the Chief Minister Trophy. For the year 2022-23, 56 players were recognized, with four receiving the Shaheed Rajiv Pandey Award, seven the Shaheed Kaushal Yadav Award, one the Veer Hanuman Singh Award, fifteen the Shaheed Pankaj Vikram Award, five the Shaheed Vinod Choubey Award, and twenty-four selected players for CM Trophy.

 

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, in his address, highlighted the government’s commitment to promoting sports talent in the state. He announced a significant incentive for athletes by declaring prize money of Rs 3 crore for Chhattisgarh players who win a gold medal in the Olympic Games, Rs 2 crore for silver medallists, and Rs 1 crore for bronze medallists. Reflecting on the past, the Chief Minister noted that the Rajya Khel Alankaran Samaroh had not been organized in the last five years. Recognizing the challenges faced by the athletes during this period, he emphasized the government’s dedication to supporting and encouraging them by reinstating the ceremony. He mentioned that this year, the event has been organised twice. The first ceremony, held on August 14, awarded Rs 1 crore 41 lakh to 133 players for their achievements in 2019-20 and 2020-21. The Chief Minister reiterated the government’s commitment to enhancing sports infrastructure and training in Chhattisgarh, aiming to elevate the performance of the state’s athletes on the international stage. He also announced the establishment of an off-centre for the Lakshmi Bai National Institute of Physical Education in Raipur, which will significantly bolster the state’s sports sector.

 

In addition to these announcements, the state government has introduced the “Krida Protsahan Yojana,” a scheme to promote sports in Chhattisgarh. This initiative will focus on upgrading sports grounds, providing high-level sports equipment, discovering new sports talent, offering financial assistance to sports clubs, and organising traditional sports competitions. The ceremony also saw the presence of Cabinet Ministers Lakhan Lal Dewangan, Dayal Das Baghel, Ramvichar Netam, Shyam Bihari Jaiswal, Raipur MP Brijmohan Agarwal, MLAs Sampat Agarwal, Purandar Mishra, Guru Khuswant Saheb, Pranav Marpachchi, Moti Lal Sahu, Anuj Sharma, Indra Kumar Sahu, Secretary of the Sports Department Himshikhar Gupta, Director of Sports and Youth Welfare Tanuja Salam, and many distinguished athletes.