Ranchi: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday felicitated Olympian daughters of the state Nikki Pradhan and Salima Tete who returned after a historic fourth-place finish as part of the Women’s Hockey Team at the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics.
He said that despite limited resources the sons and daughters on the basis of their performance are making a name for the state and the country. He said that both these daughters have performed exceedingly well in the Tokyo Olympics and despite losing out on a medal their performance against some of the top hockey-playing nations was not less than a medal. He said that along with Jharkhand the entire nation of proud of these daughters.
During the function, the Chief Minister gave a cheque of Rs 50 lakh each to Nikki and Salima. Along with that, they were also given a scooty, a laptop and a smartphone. He said that as per their choice they will be provided a house in the city spread over an area of 3000l square feet by the government. He said that despite limited resources the achievements made by these girls were simply great however there was a need to adopt honour and sensitivity towards the conduct with the players so that they are encouraged to perform in a better manner in the future.
The Chief Minister said that the state government is rapidly moving ahead to make its identity in the area of sports and the government is taking steps in a phase-wise manner for the development of sports. He pointed that after the inception of the state for the first time sports officers have been appointed and players performing better at national and international levels are being provided direct jobs and so far 40 players have been provided jobs by the state government.
The Chief Minister said that in every panchayat grounds are being developed and astroturf stadiums are being constructed so that the players get an opportunity to improve their skills at the local level so that they can make a name for themselves at the national and international level.