Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today directed the vice chancellor of the Punjabi University to sanction the necessary funds to five archers to enable them to participate in the world university games in Chinese Taipei.
The chief minister responded to the desperate pleas of five students selected for a world archery event, said an official spokesman.
Singh's intervention came just hours before the deadline for submitting the required expenditure amount ended, he said.
A coach of the selected archers said they were elated at not losing the opportunity to participate in the prestigious event slated to be held in Chinese Taipei from August 19 to 30.
The students approached the chief minister's office after the university refused to finance them owing to resource crunch, the spokesperson said.
Taking cognisance of their request and given his government's thrust on promotion of sports, the chief minister immediately intervened and instructed Vice Chancellor S K Sandhu to release the funds without delay.
Acting on the directive, the university released the funds to make the necessary payments on behalf of the archers, identified as Prabhjot Kaur, Inderjeet Verma, Amanjeet Singh, Lovejot Singh and Sanehal Mandhere, according to the official.
Singh assured the vice chancellor that the government would foot the bill, amounting to Rs 1.73 lakh per participant, in case the university is unable to meet the expense, said the spokesperson.
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