2024-07-16 17:29:04
New Delhi: Just one Olympic medal is enough to promote any sport and if it is a gold medal, then it is the icing on the cake. After javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal at the Tokyo Games three years ago, track and field players have received the largest share of government funds in this Olympic cycle in India. According to the report, according to the official data of the Mission Olympic Cell (MOC) of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the government spent Rs 96 crore and eight lakh on athletics. This time about Rs 470 crore has been spent on India’s preparations for 16 sports.
In the last Olympic cycle, Rs 5 crore 38 lakh was spent on athletics under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). A 28-member athletics team led by Chopra will represent India in the Paris Games starting on July 26. A total of 118 players are included in the Indian team. Sources have said that this time the expectations are high in view of the seven medals won last time and hence more money has been spent this time.
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Badminton players received an amount of Rs 72.02 crore
The country’s badminton players stood second in terms of getting the highest grants. Badminton players got Rs 72.02 crore, followed by boxing (60.93 crores) and shooting (60.42 crores). India has secured five quotas in badminton for the Paris Games. This includes two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu (women’s singles), HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen (men’s singles), Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty (men’s doubles) and Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto (women’s doubles).
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The bronze medal winning Indian men’s team at the Tokyo Olympics received Rs 41.29 crore in the last three years while the government spent Rs 39.18 crore on archery. Wrestlers received Rs 37.80 crore from the fund while weightlifting got Rs 26.98 crore. Equestrian got the least financial assistance with Rs 95 lakh.
Money rained on tennis and golf too
Tennis received a grant of Rs 1.67 crore while golf received a grant of Rs 1.74 crore. Sailing (3.89 crore), swimming (3.9 crore), sailing (3.78 crore) and judo (6.3 crore) also received less than Rs 10 crore. The Indian table tennis team led by star player Achanta Sharath Kamal received financial assistance of Rs 12.92 crore from the government.
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Sharath Kamal will be India’s flag bearer along with Sindhu at the opening ceremony of the Olympics. According to official figures, the country’s badminton players received the most support in terms of experience and tournaments abroad. They made 81 tours. Shooters got 45 foreign tours followed by tennis (40), athletics (31), table tennis (28), wrestling (27), archery (24), boxing (23), sailing (22), hockey (18), judo (15), golf (12) and swimming (11).
Boxing, wrestling and rowing also received assistance
Shooting held 41 national camps during the last three years, the highest among all 16 sports. Archery was second with 41 camps, followed by athletics (36), hockey (33), boxing (17), rowing (16), wrestling (15) and badminton (13). There was no national camp for equestrian as most riders train abroad. Only one camp was held for golf.
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A hockey player who went to Paris said, “We are being provided with the best facilities at SAI in Bengaluru, from food to accommodation, gym and training. We have been staying here for a long time. We are also getting a lot of tours abroad.” In personal and specific sports related expenses, the Indian hockey team got the highest amount of Rs 41.81 crore, which includes the expenses of 76 national camps and 19 foreign tours. Chopra is second in this list with Rs 5.72 crore. This expenditure was incurred on hiring the services of their current foreign coach Dr. Klaus Bartonitz, Olympic full camp in Europe and participation in competitions in Europe, America and South Africa.