Haryana CM announces ₹2.5 Cr, jobs & more for state's Indian Men's hockey team Olympians

After their heroic win over Germany in the clash for the Olympics 2020 Bronze Medal, the two players from Haryana who are a part of the Indian Men’s Hockey Team, were promised cash prizes of 2.5 crores each, jobs at the sports department of the state, by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. CM Manohar Lal also announced that the players could be provided Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) plots at concessional rates. Defender Surender Kumar and midfielder Sumit hail from Kurukshetra and Sonipat respectively and have been an integral part of the team in the Tokyo Olympics 2020. 

The eight times former gold winners defeated Germany 5-4 in a closely fought match. The Indian Men were at a backfoot in the beginning as Germany’s Timur Oruz scored early on in the match to take the lead. Simranjeet Singh scored India’s first goal followed by successful shots by Hardik and Harmanpreet later in the match. This was India’s first Olympics Bronze in Hockey in four decades as India last won a Gold medal at the Moscow Olympics 2020. Rupinder Pal Singh converted a penalty stroke and Simranjeet hit his second goal to give India the lead before Lukas Windfeder scored Germany’s fourth goal. 

From losing five matches in Olympics 2012 to winning the Gold in 2021

The Current Indian Skipper Manpreet Singh was part of the team that played the 2012 London Olympics and lost all of their five matches. Nine years later, he led from the front and took his team to an Olympics medal after a 41-year medal drought. Congratulatory messages and calls started flowing in from the entire nation on social media as India claimed the Bronze medal. Prime Minister Modi was one of the first persons to congratulate the team after their win. PM Modi said, “Many many congratulations on the win. You guys have done magic and made the entire nation proud. The whole India is proud of what you have done.Your hard work since so many months has finally paid off.” “Please wish the entire team from my side for their hard work. The nation feels proud of you and you have done a great job”, he said while talking to Coach Graham Reid and Captain Manpreet Singh in a video posted by SAI Media on their official twitter handle. 

(Image Source: PTI/AP)