Punjab to make efforts for inclusion of more players: Sukhbir

Addressing a gathering of Kabaddi fans who thronged local Nehru Stadium to witness Kabaddi matches of 3rd World Cup Kabaddi, Badal said that the SAD-BJP combine government was fully committed to encourage sports in a big way to channelize the youth energy for sports thereby saving them from falling prey to drugs.

He said that the state government has already implemented a sports policy aimed to create world class sports infrastructure besides taking number of initiative for the welfare of sports person.

Badal said that the special camps would be organized under the supervision of expert coaches and former renowned players to increase the representation of Punjabi players in various national teams.

He said that the state government had already constructed/ renovated 14 multipurpose/hockey stadiums at the cost of Rs 200 crore and announced to construct a world class floodlit stadium in Rupnagar to give a big boost to the sports activities in the area.

Badal also said that he was overwhelmed by the encouraging response to the Kabaddi as more and more countries were vying for taking part in World Cup Kabaddi.

He said that his top most priority was to include Kabaddi in Commonwealth Games before making a claim for Olympic Games and he was quite confident that this target would be achieved with in next 6 years.

Badal said that the prize money for Women's World Cup Kabaddi would be further increased next year as more and more countries were coming forward to become the part of this sport.

Earlier, Iran scripted the first major upset of 3rd World Cup Kabaddi by defeating USA with a margin of 45-41 points and became the first team to qualify for semi finals.

At the end of first half, both the teams were on the same footing with 21-21 points. MORE PTI VJ