Chandigarh, March 26 — The Chandigarh administration has awarded ₹10.18 crore in scholarships to 2,394 local sportspersons under its new sports policy, introduced in August 2023.
At a ceremony held at Post Graduate Government College for Girls, Sector 42, UT administrator and Punjab governor Gulab Chand Kataria distributed the awards. He said promoting sports remains a key priority, with the revised policy significantly increasing scholarship amounts across various categories.
Under the new policy, gold medallists in the under-23 category will receive ₹60,000, silver medallists ₹54,000, and bronze medallists ₹48,000. In the under-19 category, gold, silver, and bronze medallists will get ₹48,000, ₹42,000, and ₹36,000, respectively. For the under-14 category, the amounts are ₹36,000, ₹30,000, and ₹24,000.
Kataria also announced that the budget for the Khelo India Programme has been tripled to enhance facilities and resources for athletes nationwide. He praised Chandigarh’s sporting legacy, recalling the achievements of Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, cricket legend Kapil Dev, and several international hockey players.
“Every player has immense potential and with discipline, hard work, and the right guidance, success is inevitable,” Kataria said.
