Patiala-Parinaaz Kaur Dhaliwal, Punjab’s shotgun shooter who won two bronze medals at the Asian Games held in Japan last month, was specially honoured by the Sports Department and MLA Gurlal Singh Ghanaur today. District Sports Officer Navjot Singh Dhaliwal, Parinaaz’s father Ratandeep Singh Dhaliwal, along with other sportspersons and prominent personalities, were present on the occasion.
While honouring Parinaaz Dhaliwal for her outstanding achievement in shooting at the international level, MLA Gurlal Singh Ghanaur said that the daughter of Patiala had brought laurels to Punjab as well as the country. He expressed hope that Parinaaz would also win a medal at the Olympic Games in the future and bring further glory to the nation.
The MLA said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, the Punjab Government had taken significant steps to promote a sporting culture in the state. He said the government had cleared cases relating to the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award, cash prizes, medals, appointments and promotions of sportspersons that had been pending since 2011, thereby boosting their morale. He added that the government had appointed 24 sportspersons as DSPs and made recruitments to other gazetted posts as well. In addition, financial assistance was being provided to athletes for preparing for international competitions, while the ‘Khedan Watan Punjab Dian’ initiative was promoting sports activities across the state.
On the occasion, Parinaaz Dhaliwal thanked Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann for the financial assistance provided by the Punjab Government, including Rs. 8 lakh in 2023 for preparation for the Asian Games, Rs. 5 lakh each for preparation for the World Cup and World Championship, and another Rs. 8 lakh for the Asian Games held in Japan.
She stated that she had won bronze medals in the women’s skeet team and skeet mixed team events. She had also qualified for the final of the individual event. She said that shooting was an expensive sport and the financial assistance provided by the Punjab Government had been extremely important in supporting her sporting career.
Parinaaz appealed to parents to encourage their children to participate in sports alongside their studies so that they could nurture their talent and achieve success in the sporting arena as well.
Among those present on the occasion were Amarinder Singh, Sports Officer, Power Corporation; international sportsperson Randhir Singh; basketball coach Kawaldeep Singh; and volleyball coach Parminder Singh, along with other prominent personalities.