Haryana is now popularly considered the sports nursery of India. The majority of the sports medals on an international level in India come from the country's northern state. In the 2018 Gold Coast commonwealth games, India won 66 awards, and 22 belonged to the players from Haryana state.
With a population of just over 25million, it’s amazing to see the growing influence of Haryana in Indian sports. Be it cricket, hockey, badminton, shooting, athletics, wrestling or boxing, every year we come across new names and faces from the state with enough talent and drive to make their mark internationally. It is fascinating to studyhow the state has become the sporting powerhouse of the country.
It's not hard to understand the reason behind it. We need to turn the pages of history and look into the culture of Haryana to know the reason for its excellence in the field of sports.
When we look at the state's history in detail, we can see that most people in the state have a passion for being physically active. According to Olympian Neeraj Chopra, Haryana’s sporting excellence is an extension of Haryana's focus on physical strength and fitness. "The people of Haryana are fighters. That's what makes us excel in contact sports. Even in track and field, games that involve throwing use the same strength. That's why athletes from Haryana excel here too. Earlier, we were doing well nationally. Now, we’re winning internationally too,” he says.
Though there are other reasons also but it's considered that the army laid the foundation for Sports in the state. Before the green revolution in the country, many strong-bodied men from Haryana joined the army to supplement their family income. Many of these soldiers eventually took part in different sports and became international athletes from Haryana.
Most of the early lot Olympians from the Haryana state had an army background. After retirement from the army, most of them took coaching in their relevant sports and inspired the young talents to pursue their career in athletics and become successful athletes.
In the 1956 Olympics, there were three medals bagged by Haryana athletes. Lila Ram and Devi Singh were the two wrestlers, and Ram Mehar was the Jumper who participated in the event.
Three of them belonged from the army background and were the pioneers of the Olympics journey of the state.
Hawa Singh, who won the gold medal in boxing, was also a soldier. After winning accolades for the country, he trained other young athletes from Bhiwani and turned the city into the boxing hub.
The State Govt's support deserves a lot of credit for allocating enough funds to promote all the disciplines of sports and scout for upcoming sportsmen and women and even hiring internationally acclaimed coaches to fine tune the sports enthusiasts.
There are various types of government jobs offered to students under the Sports quota. This job securing is another reason why more and more youngsters take to sports. There are sports quotas in government jobs such as railways that attract more youngsters to participate in sports. The Government of Haryana has appointed over 19 sportspeople as DSPs.
The state government of Haryana offers the highest cash reward to those who win a gold medal at an international level. For winners of an Olympic Gold Medal, the prize money goes up to INR 6 crores while the Union government awards INR 75 lakhs to athletes. It is the only state that rewards the Paralympics athletes the same as the Olympics winners.
