Chandigarh, July 4 (IANS) Indian hockey team captain Sandeep Singh will be inducted as an officer in the Haryana police, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda announced Saturday.

Sandeep, who hails from Haryana, has been playing for the Indian team for the past few years and will be given a rank of deputy superintendent of police.

Hooda made the announcement during a function here to honour 13 outstanding sportspersons from the state. The sportspersons were given cash rewards totalling over Rs.10 lakh.

The 13 players included seven members of the Indian women hockey team, which won gold medal at the recent Champions challenge tournament in Russia. The remaining six players were boxers.

Hooda said the government wants to groom the sporting talent among youngsters from rural areas and was setting up stadiums in 168 villages to boost sports infrastructure.