The Punjab Government would set up a state of the art 10 meter indoor shooting range in Phase-6, Mohali which would be handed over to the shooters for honing their skills by the 31st of March, 2020. The range would come up at a cost of Rs. 8.18 crore. The foundation stone of the range was laid here today by the Sports Minister, Punjab, Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi and Cabinet Minister, Punjab, Mr. Balbir Singh Sidhu.In his address at phase-6 on the occasion, Sports Minister Rana Sodhi said that the Punjab Government led by the Chief Minister, Captain Amarinder Singh is undertaking whole hearted efforts to uplift the sporting standards in the state. Apart from a Sports University at Patiala, sports sphere is being strengthened at the infrastructural level. A shooting range at Mohali is already functioning whereas the new 10 meter indoor shooting range would be of Olympic standards. The minister also said that the range would be twin storeyed having 80 targets and fully air conditioned equipped with the electronic scoreboard facility.Rana Sodhi also said that the new range coming up at a cost of Rs. 8.18 crore would be completed by 31st of March, 2020 after which it would be ready for practice by the shooters. The minister also said that the Olympic sports in Punjab have been included in the list of Priority sports so as to prepare the international level sportspersons in maximum number. The sport of shooting is one such. Rana Sodhi expressed hope that in the next year’s Tokyo Olympics the players from Punjab would have participation in large number and they would excel at the games.
He further said that currently projects worth more than Rs. 100 crore are underway in Punjab which comprise Hockey Astroturf, Athletics Track and Multipurpose Indoor Hall.The Cabinet Minister Mr. Balbir Singh Sidhu on the occasion thanked the Chief Minister and the Sports Minister for the gift of a new shooting range to Mohali. He said that Mohali is carving out a niche for itself at the international level and the new range would maximize the opportunities for the budding shooters. He also added that Phase-6 has become a hub of Education, Sports, Medical Education and the Health Services.Earlier, the Director, Sports, Mrs. Amrit Kaur Gill thanked both ministers Rana Sodhi and Mr. Sidhu on reaching phase-6 sports complex. Both the ministers also inspected the already functional shooting range at Phase-6 and took feedback from the shooters practicing there.Among others present on the occasion included Chairman Subordinate Services Selection Board Mr. Raman Behl, SDM Mr. Jagdeep Sehgal, Deputy Director Sports Mr. Kartar Singh Sehambi, Executive Engineer Mr. Sanjay Mahajan, International Shooter I.G.(Retired) Mr. Tejinder Singh Dhillon, District Rifle Shooting Association President Mr. Deep Sidhu and Secretary General Mr. Ramdeep Pratap Singh, Tehsildar Mrs. Sukhpinder Kaur, District Sports Officer Mr. Surjit Singh, OSD to the Sports Minister Mr. Bahadur Singh, Political Secretary to the Cabinet Minister Mr. Balbir Singh Sidhu- Mr. Harkesh Chand Sharma Machhli Kalan and Mr. Rimple Middha.