CHANDIGARH, May 25 -- Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday conferred 87 players with the prestigious Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award and also honoured 1,070 medal-winning sportspersons from different disciplines. The state government also distributed prize money worth Rs.32.05 crore among players through cheques. Addressing a felicitation ceremony here, Mann said for the first time, 220 players in the state were granted Rs.8.61 crore to prepare for tournaments. "The Punjab government has allocated a record sports budget of Rs.1,763 crore for the financial year 2026-27 to strengthen sports infrastructure and athlete development across the state. To nurture talented players in villages, 3,148 rural sports grounds are being developed at a cost of Rs.1,300 crore," he said. Mann further said Punjab will host the Asian Champions Trophy for the first time, calling it a proud moment for the state's sporting legacy. Among the top honourees, Indian Women's Cricket Team captain Harmanpreet Kaur and all-rounder Amanjot Kaur received Rs.1.50 crore each. In shooting, world championship medallists Amanpreet Singh and Neeraj Kumar were awarded Rs.1.54 crore and Rs.1.52 crore, respectively, while Kirandeep Kaur and Kritika Sharma received Rs.50 lakh each. Shooter Vijayveer Sidhu was honoured with Rs.28.50 lakh, Wushu player Kushal Kumar received Rs.25 lakh, while para-powerlifting world champion Paramjit Kumar was awarded Rs.55 lakh. Mann said the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Awards were distributed across multiple yearly cycles to recognise consistent excellence in sports. He stated that the 2018-19 awardees included hockey player Ramandeep Singh, judoka Kiranjit Singh, kabaddi player Harwinder Kaur, rower Jaspreet Singh, shooter Angad Veer Singh Bajwa, weightlifter Pradeep Singh, wrestler Harpreet Singh, and swimmer Chahat Arora. He further said that Sangampreet Singh Bisla in archery, Twinkle Choudhary in athletics, Veerpal in baseball, Amritpal Singh in basketball, Avtar Singh in kayaking and canoeing, Amarjit Singh in cycling, Ina Arora in fencing, and Harjinder Singh in handball were honoured for their achievements in 2020. The 2021 cycle recognised archery champion Sukhbeer Singh, athlete Kirpal Singh, baseball player Amanjit Kaur Bains, kayaker Priyanka Devi, cyclist Naman Kapil, fencer Udeveer Singh, and handball player Mandeep Kaur. Mann said a special category was dedicated to elite Arjuna awardees and Olympic hockey stars, many of whom are serving in prestigious public service positions in the state. He said the honoured group included Indian men's Hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh, along with Olympic medallists Gurjant Singh and Rupinder Pal Singh, both serving as PCS officers. Mann also honoured Olympic hockey stars Mandeep Singh, Hardik Singh, Varun Kumar, Shamsher Singh, goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak, and Dilpreet Singh, who serves as a DSP in Punjab Police....