Dhami says govt working to encourage sports in Uttarakhand

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Himalayan Cup football tournament at the Pavilion Ground in Dehradun on Monday, the chief minister said, "Under the visionary leadership of our prime minister, continued efforts are being made to encourage sports here in Uttarakhand and improve the state's sporting culture."

The CM added that his government is also committed to supporting sports and athletes in the hill state and helping them earn laurels for the country on the global stage. "Our government is working continuously to help our athletes and aspiring sports stars shine on the world stage. Be it Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, football or even traditional sports, we are working to support our athletes," Dhami said.

The chief minister said the government has even proposed adding a popular local sport to the national games. "We are also trying to lift our traditional sports from anonymity and bring them to the fore. Even our epic, the Mahabharata, has certain references to football."

Congratulating the local footballers on their performances and on making the tournament a grand success, the CM said, "Football is a sport that is being played in our state over several generations."

On a lighter note, the chief minister said while he played football in his boyhood days, his responsibilities as CM now don't allow him the luxury to rekindle his interest in the sport. "Even I played football in my childhood but it's no longer possible now."

Sharing an anecdote from his boyhood, "There was this football match and I was the goalkeeper. I was in the fourth standard then while my teammates and opponents were senior school students. A player from the rival team took a shot at the goal and I stopped. Such was the ferocity of the shot that it hit my hand and ricocheted off the field. I ran across to retrieve the ball but couldn't as I had broken my hand. My hand was in a cast for one-and-a-half months." (ANI)