Chandigarh/Dhudike, Jun 1 :Punjab Sports and Youth Services Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi Today laid foundation stone of laying the ultra-modern Hockey Astroturf at village Dhudike in Moga with the cost of Rs 5 crore, which would be completed with seven months.

Addressing a brief function, Rana Sodhi said that people of village Dhudike have made a significant contribution in the freedom struggle of the country and now, the youngsters of the village will now bring laurel in sports for the country.

The Minister informed that the state government is constructing an international level astroturf hockey stadium at village Dhudike to preserve the historical significance of the village. The astroturf will be laid up by the world-renowned company Greenfield of Holland. He said that a coach of international repute will also be deputed to train the players.

He said that this project was pending for a long time and now it would be completed on a war footing. He said that the youth of the region were keen on playing but did not have the resources. Now with the launch of this astroturf, the youth of district Moga will get a lot of benefits and they will get a chance to play at the international level.

Rana Sodhi also announced an international standard swimming pool would be set up in Moga, assuring that the existing indoor stadium in Moga would be made operational, for which GMADA has been asked.

He said apart from this, astroturfs were also being laid at Ferozepur, Gurdaspur and Jalandhar besides laying four synthetic turfs.

Answering the queries of media persons, Rana Sodhi said the sports wings in the state were temporarily closed due to the COVID pandemic, which would be reopened as soon as the situation improves. He said that the state government has taken steps to uplift the standard of sports and sportspersons in the state including a new sports policy, increased cash prizes, re-launch of the Maharaj Ranjit Singh Award as well as imparting high-quality training to the sportspersons.

He said that for the first time, Punjab would have the highest number of athletes representing the country in the Tokyo Olympics. He claimed that the land of district Moga would soon start producing Olympic level athletes.(UNI)