Athletes surrender medals following alleged unfulfilled commitments by Sports Minister Wahab Riaz
Athletes who took part in the Punjab Rising Games have opted to return their medals in protest to the office of interim Sports Minister for Punjab, Wahab Riaz. This act serves as a demonstration against what they perceive as the unfulfilled assurances of cash rewards promised by the Punjab Sports Board and Wahab Riaz.
All the national and international participants in the competition earned their medals through dedicated efforts and deserve more commendable treatment. When the athletes attempted to meet the former cricketer and interim sports minister, Wahab Riaz, they found his office locked.
Wahab Riaz had initially declared that the extensive event would span 16 days, featuring sports such as volleyball, hockey, football, badminton, athletics, and table tennis.
The ongoing Punjab Rising Games commenced on January 18, with the final scheduled for February 2.
Before the tournament, Wahab Riaz had announced that outstanding performers in the mega event would receive a monthly stipend of Rs 70,000, Rs 50,000, and Rs 30,000 for a year, based on their performance. The former cricketer also pledged a prize money of Rs 25 lakh for each game during the mega event. However, as of now, none of these promises and announcements have been fulfilled. A total of 950 players from all divisions of Punjab have registered for the event.