The state government has conferred the prestigious Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award upon three baseball players for their outstanding achievements, said officials.
Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award is the state’s highest sports honour.
The three stars — Amanjot Kaur Bains, Arshdeep Kaur and Virpal — also got a prize of Rs 5 lakh each. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday honoured 87 sportspersons with the prestigious award during a state-level felicitation ceremony.
Arshdeep and Virpal belong to Gidderwindi, a small village near Jagraon here. Despite limited resources, the two women emerged as shining stars in national baseball through their dedication and consistent performances. Both the players completed their graduation from Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women here, where they continued to excel in sports while pursuing academics.
Amanjot Kaur hails from Kishanpura, near Kurali in Rupnagar district. She pursued her post graduation from Guru Nanak Girls College, Ludhiana.
Earlier, state players Kuljeet Kaur, Ramandeep Kaur and Raj Rani had received the award in 2019.
Six women players receiving the state’s highest sports honour reflects the success of women’s baseball.
Bains earned widespread recognition through her consistent performances at national and international levels. She won gold medals in the 29th Senior National Baseball Championship in Goa, the 30th edition in Karnataka and the 31st edition in Odisha.
Her biggest achievement came when she captained the Indian women’s baseball team in the 7th Women’s Baseball World Cup, held in Gijang, South Korea, in 2016.
Arshdeep carved a niche for herself with outstanding performances. She secured a silver medal in the All India University Baseball Championship, held at Acharya Nagarujna University in 2015.
She later won gold medals in the 29th, 30th and 31st Senior National Baseball Championships. She also bagged a silver medal in the All India Inter-University Games held at Panjab University (PU) in 2017 and a bronze medal in the 32nd Senior National Baseball Championship held in Chhattisgarh in 2018.
Arshdeep then represented India in the 7th Women’s Baseball World Cup in Korea.
Virpal emerged as one of state’s finest baseball players with medal-winning performances. She won silver medal in the All India Inter-University Championship in 2015 and was part of the state’s gold medal-winning campaigns in the Senior National Championships held in Goa, Karnataka and Odisha.
She later added a bronze medal to her kitty during the 32nd Senior National Championship and another silver medal in the inter-university games at Chandigarh in 2017.
Virpal represented India in the Baseball World Cup Championship in Korea.
Congratulating the players, Punjab Baseball Association secretary Harbir Singh Gill said the repeated success of state’s women players at the highest level reflected the hard work and dedication of the players and coaches.
“Punjab baseball has created glorious history. This is a historic achievement and a matter of immense pride for the state,” he added.
Association president Sukhdev Singh Aulakh said the achievements would inspire the next generation to pursue sports fearlessly.
