Jalandhar-based Lovely Professional University (LPU) has announced a cash prize of ₹50 lakh to javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra for winning a gold medal and ₹10 lakh to wrestler Bajrang Punia for winning a bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Games. Chopra is pursuing his Bachelors in Arts (BA) and Punia pursuing his MA in Public Administration from LPU.
Ashok Mittal, Chancellor, Lovely Professional University said, “Neeraj has made the entire country proud by winning the first-ever medal for India in a track and field event in Olympics. With his performance, he has ended a 100+ year drought and showed that Indian athletes can outperform anyone on the world stage with proper training and effort. His effort will make millions of Indians dream to become an athlete and will bring about a sports revolution in the country. The same is true for Bajrang Punia as well. We are extremely proud and fortunate to count them as our students and look forward to welcoming these brave hearts back at the campus.”
11 students from LPU represented India at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics in wrestling, hockey, athletics, and Paralympics. The university recently announced a reward of ₹70 lakh for its students who won medals as a part of the Indian Hockey Team.