He is a fitness freak and ardent lover of sports. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi has admired this IPS officer’s dedication to a healthy lifestyle. The Prime Minister retweeted his training video calling him an inspiration for the Youth.
Yes, the 2007 batch IPS officer Mr. Pankaj Nain rightly deserves all this praise. Besides being a workaholic and fitness freak Mr. Nain is also an engineer and have a degree in Law. Currently posted as the Director of Sports & Youth Affairs (Haryana) and OSD to Khelo India Youth Games 2021, Mr. Nain has been tasked with encouraging sports and supporting sportspersons all over the state.
In a conversation with Indian Masterminds, he spoke about his passion for fitness, the importance of ‘Khelo India Games’ and also talked about the preparation of Olympic qualifiers from Haryana.
A TOOL TO ERADICATE CRIME
Mr Nain has been involved in various games even before taking charge as Director Sports. He believes if a person is focussed on fitness and health, he would never do crimes & drugs. “Sports are a great medium of motivating people for fitness and team spirit. It can revive image of a country and of course the state. Young minds are fragile and if their energy is channelized into sports they would definitely do good in life”, he feels.
He has put his theory to practice in one of the most crime-infested areas of Jhajhar, Haryana when he served the district as SP. He created sports clubs and organized sports. The results were extraordinary. The youth left crime and took up sports. Many of these lads are still playing at various levels. “These boys might have taken to crime as in those villages criminals were idolised before sportsmen dislodged them.”
Organising Khelo India
Haryana is hosting Khelo India Youth Games for the first time this year and Mr Nain has been appointed as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD). It’s a platform to motivate under-18 to come forward and participate in games. Interestingly, it is also the first time when five indigenous games viz. Kalaripayattu, Gatka, Yoga, Thang-ta, Malkhamb have been included in this national tournament.
Mr. Nain also pointed out that this time more than 30 players have qualified for Tokyo Olympics from Haryana. This is a big achievement for the tiny North Indian state. Out of these six players including Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat will enter the biggest sports event as the world number one rank player.
CREATING HEROES
As the Director of Sports, this is overwhelming for him and his team who is working very hard to provide all the essentials for the players. “We have already given Rs five lakh advance to all the qualified players for their training. We are also putting their posters and standees in all the sports complex and promoting their stories so they get full support from the public and do well in the Olympics and inspire thousands of children. We are hopeful that this time we will get good number of medals”, said the officer.
In the end he doesn’t forget to mention the support he is getting from the state government. The Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Sports Minister Sandeep Singh have left no stone unturned to prove the best facilities to Haryana Olympians besides announcing a big incentive to each players winning medals in the big arena.
