Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has approved the names of five eminent sportspersons, including cricketer Harbhajan Singh, as members of the state's sports institute's governing council.
All sportspersons, to be part of the Punjab Institute of Sports' (PIS) governing council are from different disciplines of sports, an official spokesperson said on Saturday. Other sportspersons, who have been included in the PIS' governing council are hockey player Harcharan Singh, eminent athlete Gurmeet Kaur, noted Kabaddi player Hardeep Singh and Olympic gold medallist in shooting Abhinav Bindra.
All PIS members, except Bindra, are Arjuna Awardee, the statement said.
Besides being a Padma Shri, cricketer Harbhajan Singh too is an Arjuna Awardee.
PIS is the principal policy formulating body of sports in Punjab. The institute has been mandated to create a sizeable pool of high-potential sportspersons, to be groomed as potential medallists in Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and other national and international competitions.
They are given scientific training by eminent coaches in ultra-modern sports complexes with the latest sports equipment, the spokesperson said.
