Delhi Golf club announces Rs 50 lakh in cash awards for Rio Olympics and Paralympics winners

September 21, 2016

New Delhi, Sep 21: In a unique gesture, the Delhi Golf club on Tuesday announced cash awards of a total of Rs 50 lakhs for all medal winners from the 2016 Rio Olympics & Paralympics.

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According to Rajesh Dhingra, President of the DGC, the Club has not made any distinction between the able bodied athletes and those in the Paralympics, and will give the same prize to both.

The difference in amount is based on the medals. The prizes are Rs 10 lakhs for gold, Rs 7.5 lakhs for silver and Rs 5 lakhs for bronze.

The awardees are: Devendra Jhajharia, Paralympics Gold Medalist in Javelin gets Rs 10 lakhs, Thangavelu Mariyappan, Paralympics Gold Medalist in High Jump gets Rs 10 lakhs, PV Sindhu, Olympics Silver Medalist in Badminton gets Rs 7.5 lakhs, Deepa Malik, Paralympics Silver Medalist in Shot Put gets 7.5 lakhs, Varun Bhati, Paralympics Bronze Medalist in High Jump gets Rs 5 lakhs, and Sakshi Malik, Olympics Bronze Medalist in Wrestling gets Rs 5 lakhs.

Delhi Golf Club is an exclusive golf facility but its President Rajesh Dhingra said he believes that achievements at the biggest sports arena in the world, need to be recognized and rewarded by as many corporate houses, individuals and sports bodies as possible.

Dhingra, a former Secretary of the Sports Authority of India, said: "I hope that when India's golfers perform at the highest level then they too will get felicitated by other organizations. This will help raise the profile of sports people all over the country."

In addition, the Delhi Golf Club has also announced a cash award of Rs 5 lakhs for Pullela Gopichand's Badminton academy in Hyderabad.

Sindhu thanked the Delhi Golf Club saying "every award is special for me and further motivates me to win for my country."

Gopichand said: "I am pleasantly surprised to receive a contribution from a golf club and I hope to reciprocate by welcoming any of our national golfers to my academy for training if it helps them."

Deepa Malik, the first Indian woman to win a Paralympics medal also thanked the DGC. "This is a perfect example of the Amul tag line of Para athletes being on 'Para' with the able bodied ones. Cash prizes of the same value for both are a welcome gesture."

The Delhi Golf Club hopes to invite all the Rio winners to the club for a felicitation and to try their hand at golf.

The club has a rich history of supporting the game, especially caddy turned golfers like two-time Indian Open champion Ali Sher who was made an honorary member.

Asian Games Gold Medalist and Arjuna Awardee Shiv Kapur is another famous name from the golf club. More recently the DGC had provided playing and coaching facilities to Shubham Jaglan who is a world junior champion.

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News Network
April 21,2020

New Delhi, Apr 21: India skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday said people seem to have become more compassionate while coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and hoped the sense of gratitude towards frontline workers like doctors and police personnel remains even after the crisis is over.

Speaking in an online class organised by "Unacademy", Kohli and his actor wife Anushka Sharma spoke at length about the challenges they faced before tasting success.

"The one positive out of this crisis that we as a society have become more compassionate. We are showing more gratitude to the frontline workers in this war, be it police personnel, doctors or nurses.

"I hope it stays this way even after we overcome this crisis," said Kohli with Sharma seated next to her.

Kohli said the pandemic has taught the world a very important lesson.

"Life is unpredictable. So, do what makes you happy and not get into comparisons all the time. People have a choice now how to come out of this phase. Life is going to be different after this," said the skipper.

For Sharma, the pandemic has forced people to care about the basics in life.

"There is a learning in all of this. Nothing happens without a reason. If the frontline workers were not there, we would not have access to basics," she said..

"This has taught us that no one is special than the other. Health is everything. We are more connected as a society now," she added.

During the session, Kohli was asked about the moment when he felt most helpless.

"I felt nothing was working for me when I was not picked for the state team initially. I cried the whole night and asked my coach 'why did I not get selected'?" he responded.

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News Network
March 13,2020

Mar 13: The start of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world's most lucrative cricket competition, has been postponed from March 29 until April 15 over the coronavirus, the Indian cricket board said Friday.

"The Board of Control for Cricket in India has decided to suspend IPL 2020 till 15th April 2020, as a precautionary measure against the ongoing Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation," the BCCI said in a statement.

The two-month Twenty20 competition is estimated to generate more than $11 billion for the Indian economy and involves cricket's top international stars.

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Agencies
June 7,2020

Mumbai, Jun 7: The Mumbai airport became home for a 23-year-old Ghanaian footballer for 74 days after he got stranded there due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown that led to cancellation of flights.

The ordeal of Randy Juan Muller reminded people of Tom Hank's character in the Hollywood film "The Terminal", and it ended after Yuva Sena, the youth wing of the Shiv Sena, reached out to help him.

Muller has now shifted to a local hotel and is waiting for airlines to resume operations so that he can fly home.

The Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) also provided him all help, including food, and allowed him to use the airport WiFi network to make calls, an official said.

Muller, a Ghana national who used to play for a club in Kerala, was scheduled to fly home by Kenya Airways flight when the lockdown was announced and he found himself stranded at the Mumbai airport.

"He would spend his time at the airport's fancy artificial gardens and somehow buy food from stalls and pass his time with the airport staff. Muller told me the airport staff was very helpful," Yuva Sena office-bearer Rahul Kanal said.

A security officer at the airport gave him mobile phone to call his family back home.

A Twitter user brought Muller's plight to the notice of Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray following which Kanal reached out to the footballer and helped him move into a hotel.

On Saturday, Muller thanked Thackeray and Kanal for their help.

"Thank you Aaditya Thackeray, Rahul Kanal. Thank you very very so much. I appreciate what you have done. Salute," he said.

Kanal in a tweet said when he met Muller at the airport, the latter cried with happiness.

"Have no words to salute his willpower and fight for survival in such circumstances at this age," Kanal said.

An official at the Mumbai International Airport Ltd said the footballer was provided all help.

"All personnel at the airport, including from MIAL and CISF, gave him every possible help during his stay at the airport. Besides food, he was also allowed to use the airport WiFi network to make calls. Airport staff would recharge his phone at their own expense," the official said.

The 2004 film "Terminal" of Steven Spielberg was about a man stranded at a US airport after being denied entry into the country and a military coup back home.

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