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What’s the story?
Ever heard of handing over a "desi" breed of cow as an award? Well, that's exactly what the six Haryana girls, who have recently won gold medals in World Youth Women's Boxing Championship, will get, for their efforts.
The Government of Haryana has decided to felicitate these young champions with an Indian breed of cow, each. OP Dhankar, the agriculture minister of Haryana announced this unusual award for the girls while welcoming them in the Sports Authority of India (SAI) boxing academy at Rajiv Gandhi Sports Stadium, in Rohtak.
Dhankar supported his decision by saying that cow’s milk helps to develop the mind as well as the body. According to him, besides monetary awards, these girls deserved something unique, since they have made their state proud at such a young age.
The context
From 19th to 26th November, the boxing championship took place in Guwahati. Jyoti of Rohtak and Shashi of Hisar, Neetu and Sakshi from Bhiwani, won gold medals whereas Anupama and Neha who come from Kaithal bagged bronze medals in different categories.
The heart of the matter
The minister said that the BJP government is doing everything to promote sports in the state and they will keep on doing so. OP Dhankar further said that they are planning to organise a film festival soon where all the sports-related films will be on display to inspire the youth as well as the sports achievers to thrive further.
Also, the BJP government is set to make a wall of honour in many villages of Haryana, where the names of martyrs, freedom fighters, sportspersons and other achievers related to the respective village will be highlighted.
What’s next?
The initiatives taken by the government certainly look good for the betterment of sports in the state and as far as the unique award is concerned, there could hardly have been anything more unique than this.
Author’s take:
It is surprising, exciting, and of course, motivating to see such steps taken by the government. However, awarding cows to international champions does seem a bit odd.
