BHUBANESWAR: Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has announced that the government would provide “complete funding” to the Indian hockey team towards preparations for the Commonwealth Games (CWG), Asian Games, World Cup and Olympic qualifiers next year.
“In the past few months, our hockey team’s performance has been good. In this tournament also, the comeback has been good. Indian team is the youngest in average age, which helps build endurance, speed and bench strength,” observed Rathore at the sidelines of the medal play-offs of the FIH Men’s Hockey World League Final here Sunday.
“I know from here to CWG, Asiad and WC, these are Olympic preparatory tournaments while being major competitions themselves. The ministry will give complete funding to Hockey India in terms of whatever they need,” added the Atlanta Olympics silver medallist.
“In all the schemes until now the focus has been on infrastructure funding,” he said. “It‘s the easiest thing to do. But how do you bring players to practice in those stadiums, that funding was missing. Khelo India Khelo is country’s soft sponsorships. Every year we will fund 1000 players, give them Rs 5 lakh for the next eight years and keep adding 1000 to that every year.”
Rathore reiterated that the Central Government will do everything possible in its capacity to support the athletes and raise the bar of sports in the country.
“All the schemes until now the focus was on infrastructure funding. It’s the easiest thing to do. But how do you bring players to practice in those stadiums. That funding was missing. Khelo India programme is funding those soft sponsorships,” PTI quoted him as having said.
“Every year we will fund 1,000 players, give them Rs 5 lakh (Rs 500,000) for the next eight years and keep adding 1,000 every year.”
He also said that India is among the top five countries in the world where there are incentives, job reservations, meritorious pensions for deserving athletes.
Meanwhile, the Odisha state government on Sunday announced a Rs 1 million cash prize for each Indian hockey player who was part of the team that won the Bronze medal by beating Germany in the Hockey World League Final at Kalinga Stadium here. A Rs 1 million cash prize has been announced for the coach also while the supporting staff of Hockey India have been promised Rs 500,000 each.
“Well played, #India, bronze winners of #HWL2017. The young team showed brilliance & tremendous grit to achieve podium finish. Happy to announce a 10 lakh cash prize to each player & coach & 5 lakh each for support staff of @TheHockeyIndia. They have made us proud. #INDvGER,” tweeted Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik.
