Centre considering Bharat Ratna for Dhyan Chand: Sports Minister

With batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar being conferred the Bharat Ratna, there has been heated debate on why hockey legend Dhyan Chand had been ignored for the award. The Union Sports Minister jumped on the issue on tuesday, saying that the government was discussing the possibility of honouring the hockey wizard.u00a0

Jitendra Singh spoke about the Centre's plans while laying the foundation stone of Rs 6.87 crore synthetic track at War Heroes Stadium in Sangrur.

Talking to reporters here, he said the government was also making efforts to sort out the impasse between the International Olympic Committee and the Indian Olympic Association so that the country's athletes can take part in next year's Olympics under the National Flag.

Speaking about Punjab government's desire to work for inclusion of Kabaddi in Olympics, Jitendra said the government was prepared to extend every help in this direction.

Local MP Vijay Inder Singla said that an amount of Rs 1.60 crore has been disbursed as grants from his MPLAD fund to provide various youth clubs and local bodies with Gym kits and help in the construction of stadiums.u00a0