Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh hosted a dinner on Wednesday for Olympic medallists and participants from the state, and few others, including gold medallist Neeraj Chopra.
An official release said that the lawns of the Chief Minister's farmhouse in Mohali were lit up with the spirit of revelry and the aroma of the savouries that he had painstakingly prepared for his cherished guests.
"I started at 11 in the morning. Most of it was done by around 5 pm., and then it was time for some final touches. But I loved every minute of it," said the Chief Minister.
"They (the sportspersons) worked so hard to win us glory, what I have done for them is nothing in comparison," he added.
The Chief Minister could be seen serving his guests personally, straight out of the 'patilas' in which he had cooked his choicest dishes earlier.
"The food always tastes better if served direct from the cooking vessel," he said.
The menu included mutton khara pishori, long ellachi chicken, aloo korma, dal masri, murg korma, dugani biryani and zarda rice.
Hockey Captain Manpreet Singh (DSP, Punjab police) said he had heard about the Chief Minister's cooking but what he savoured today exceeded his expectations.
Discuss thrower Kamalpreet Kaur said she was truly impressed by both the food and the hospitality of the Chief Minister.
Besides Olympic Javelin Throw gold medalist Neeraj Chopra, the special guests for the evening included Olympics bronze medalist hockey players Manpreet Singh (Captain), Harmanpreet Singh (Vice Captain), Mandeep Singh, Hardik Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Shamsher Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Varun Kumar and Simranjit Singh. The Chief Minister has already announced Rs.2.51 crore each for them.
Women's hockey semi-finalists Gurjit Kaur and Reena Khokhar, Reserve Hockey player Krishan Bahadur Pathak were also among the guests. They have been awarded Rs 50 lakh each.
The Chief Minister had also earlier announced Rs 21 lakh for Olympics participants race-walker Gurpreet Singh and shooter Angadveer Singh Bajwa, who were also invited for the dinner.
( With inputs from ANI )
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