New Delhi, Aug 30 (IANS) Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday said that India has ramped up its policy focus and public investment for sports. “In this regard, India’s oil and gas PSUs have played a pioneering role,” the Minister emphasised.

Hardeep Singh Puri said this while speaking at an event organised by the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) in collaboration with the Delhi Soccer Association and Sudeva Academy to celebrate National Sports Day, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas said in a statement.

Sabeena Chowdhary, Member Secretary, PSPB, and Anuj Gupta, President, Sudeva Delhi FC, also participated in the event.

Highlighting the transformation in India’s sports sector, Hardeep Singh Puri said: “After 2014, there has been a concerted effort to make India a ‘sporting nation’. There is now deep support for promising youngsters to have elite-pathway success, not only in terms of funding, but also in the development of the entire ecosystem including nutrition, sports science, and coaching.”

He noted that in the last session of Parliament, concluded only a week ago, the historic National Sports Governance Bill, 2025 was passed to overhaul the governance framework of sports federations and bodies – thus increasing accountability, the statement said.

“Results demonstrate the success of these transformative policies,” the Minister observed. “The last ten years have shown this: in the 2023 Asian Games and the 2024 Para Asian Games, we achieved record hauls of 107 medals and 29 medals (7 gold, 9 silver, and 13 bronze) respectively.”

Acknowledging the contribution of PSPB, Hardeep Singh Puri said, “Among the many stakeholders who have helped secure this transformation, a special mention is due to PSPB, which is one of the largest sports promotion bodies in the country, comprising 16 member organisations, while supporting and organising competitions in 19 sporting disciplines.”

Over the decades, PSPB athletes have consistently brought laurels to India, with as many as 151 national awardees having been PSPB sportspersons. These include 3 Padma Bhushan, 13 Padma Shri, 10 Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, 1 Dronacharya Award, 7 Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Awards and 117 Arjuna Awardees, the statement noted.

The Minister also highlighted PSPB’s role in promoting sports in Sonbhadra district, Uttar Pradesh – the district he has adopted under the Aspirational Districts programme.

“PSPB has harnessed superb sporting talent in the district by conducting archery competitions and promoting the sport. Now, we are planning to organise a Sailing event in Sonbhadra next year, and support the building of a Water Sports Training Centre – further initiatives that will strengthen India’s budding sports ecosystem,” he stated.

Expressing his happiness, the Minister said: “I am very happy to be here in an event which the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board is organising along with the Delhi Soccer Association.”

–IANS

pgh/