The Minister for Steel, Chemicals and Fertilisers Shri Ram Vilas Paswan today handed over a cheque for Rs.25 Lakhs to the Olympic Bronze Medal winner Sushil Kumar as the reward for his historic performance. The reward was announced by the Minister immediately after Shushil Kumar won the medal in Beijing. The amount has been jointly paid by Steel Authority of India, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited, the National Minerals Development Corporation and the Manganese Oars India Limited. Sushil Kumar who participated in the 66 Kg category freestyle wrestling event was among three wrestlers who represented India. The other two were Yogeshwar Dutt and Rajiv Tomar. SAIL will bear the cost of training of the three wrestlers for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Presenting the cheque Shri Paswan said that the Ministry of Steel will make efforts to help sports organizations/state governments to create world class sports infrastructure in the future. He said, the NMDC has started preparations for selecting 10 promising sports persons between the age group of 13 and 20 and provide them scholarships to enable them to undertake institutional training. It will also provide sponsorship support to the 2010 Commonwealth Games. It will also start a world-class sports academy in the tribal areas of Chattisgarh. RINL has also planned to establish a tribal sports Academy on the Andhra-Orissa border. Shri Paswan said, SAIL also proposes to constitute Rs.10 crore SAIL Sports Talent Promotion Fund for promoting talented players who have potential but are not having adequate means to come up to the competitive level in various national/international sports events.
Secretary Ministry of Steel, Shri P.K.Rastogi and SAIL Chairman Shri S.K.Roongta were present on the occasion
