Wrestler Sushil Kumar, who won the gold medal in the freestyle 66-kg category, wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt, who won gold in the 60-kg freestyle event, and shooter Deepak Sharma, who bagged a silver medal in the 50m air pistol competition, at the recently-concluded Commonwealth Games (CWG), were felicitated by the Ministry of Steel at Udyog Bhavan here today. Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), under the Ministry of Steel, had been providing financial support for the training and other requirements of all the three sportsmen.
Congratulating the three sportsmen on their superlative performance, Union Minister for Steel Shri Virbhadra Singh announced cash rewards of Rs. 5 lakh each for the two gold medallists and Rs. 3 lakh for Deepak Sharma. In his address, Shri Singh said: “It is matter of great satisfaction that these young sportsmen realised their aspiration of bringing honour and glory to India at the Games. We are also proud that SAIL spotted the right talent at the right time and encouraged them to become the torchbearers of their respective disciplines in the country.” The Minister also lauded SAIL for being a frontrunner in sports promotion and for setting up a number of sports academies to nurture and train budding talents who go on to bring honour for the country.
Speaking on the occasion, Secretary, Ministry of Steel Shri P.K. Mishra stated that sport, by nature, promotes happiness, discipline and character. “It is therefore an important ingredient for development of society and companies. We hope that SAIL will strengthen its sport academies so that future winners can be nurtured there. We also hope that SAIL will increase support to budding talent, especially among the tribals in India.”
SAIL Chairman Shri C.S. Verma, too, congratulated the medal winners and said that they have honoured SAIL’s conviction about their capabilities and prowess for bringing glory to the nation. He also spoke about the company’s commitment to promotion of sporting talent, right since inception, which has found real expression through the sports academies set up by SAIL in its plant locations. Several cadets from SAIL sports academies for hockey, football, athletics and archery have made the nation proud. Cadets in these academies are provided sophisticated training by former sportspersons of national repute.
Sushil Kumar, determined to win the top prize in his category at the CWG, had come to SAIL’s notice for his consistent efforts in improving his performance three years ago. Taking a decision to promote this not-so-well-known wrestler who had had beaten Leonid Spiridonov (Kazakhstan) to win the bronze in the 2006 Doha Asian Games, SAIL had since then supported him and two other wrestlers, including Yogeshwar Dutt, to help them find their rightful place in the history of Indian sports. Sushil Kumar upheld SAIL’s firm belief in his prowess when he won the bronze medal in the men's 66-kg freestyle category at the Beijing Olympics in Beijing and the gold in the World Wrestling Championship earlier this year. He was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 2006 and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2009.
Yogeshwar Dutt, who had won golds in the 2003 and 2005 CWG held in Canada and South Africa, respectively, overcame a career-threatening knee injury last year with grit and determination to win the gold in the Delhi CWG in the 60-kg freestyle wrestling category. His tremendous willpower and training helped him overcome the setback. He is now focusing his attention on winning gold at the forthcoming Asian Games. Dutt also received the Arjuna Award for 2008-09.
Deepak Sharma has won two bronze and a silver medal in major international competitions and 31 medals, including three gold, in national level shooting championships.