12 Oct : The Minister of Railways Shri Lalu Prasad gave away the cash award of Rs. 55 lakh to Railwayman Shri Sushil Kumar, who won Bronze Medal in the Men’s Freestyle 66-Kg class Wrestling at the recently held Beijing Olympics, at the 56th Senior National Kabaddi Championship (Men &Women) which he inaugurated here today.
He also gave away cash award of Rs. 30 lakh each to Shri Akhil Kumar and Shri Jitendra Kumar of Indian Railways who reached the quarterfinal stage of Boxing in Beijing Olympics. Other players from Indian Railways who represented India in Beijing Olympics were also awarded with Rs. 2 lakh each. The Minister also announced Rs. 21 lakh to Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) for excellent performance in organizing the sports events and Rs 11 lakh each to Railwaymen Shri Virender Punia, Asstt. Coach (Athletes) and Shri Jaidev Bist, Asstt. Coach (Boxing) who participated in the Beijing Olympics. On this remarkable achievement, the Minister has also rewarded all the 15 Railway sportspersons who participated in the Beijing Olympics with a promotion to the next higher grade.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Lalu Prasad said that out of 56 sportspersons who represented India at the Beijing Olympics, 15 were from Indian Railways and Shri Sushil Kumar being the first ever Railway man winning an Olympics medal, has brought glory to India and to Indian Railways in particular. He said that Indian Railways is making unique contribution to promote sports scenario in the country while recruiting sportspersons from different parts of the country, nurturing them and helping them to compete at national and international standards. The Minister also congratulated RSPB for their all out efforts to organize various sports events successfully.
The 56th Senior National Kabaddi Championship (Men &Women) being organized by Railway Sports Promotion Board (RSPB) being held in New Delhi from 11th to 14th October 2008. Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) has entrusted RSPB to host this prestigious event. This National Championship involves matches of super league’s section in which top 10 teams in each Men & Women are participating. In Men section, the teams are from Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Karnatka, West Bengal, Bihar, Services and Indian Railways. In Women section, the teams are from Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra, Vidharba, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Indian Railways.
In this Championship, there are around 350 players/officials from 20 units. In this super league format, two pools of 5 teams each will be formed. There are 20 league matches, two semi-finals and one final respectively in Men & Women section. This modification in format has been introduced by AKFI for the first time from this championship onward.