NITI Aayog drafts action plan targeting 50 medals at 2024 Olympics

September 23, 2016

New Delhi, Sep 23: Following the disappointment with India’s performance at the Rio Olympics 2016, The Indian think tank National Institution for Transforming India or NITI Aayog on Wednesday has announced an action plan named “Let's Play” with an aim to improve India’s medal prospects in the future so that the country wins at least 50 medals at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

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The 20-point plan highlights some key areas that require improvement. These action points have been divided into a short-term vision (4 to 8 years) and a medium to long-term vision (8 to 15 years).

The plan also aims to initiate larger debate among stakeholders and public at large on how to improve sporting performance in the country.

Announcing the initiative, NITI Aayog tweeted: "NITI Aayog to release 'Let's Play' - An Action Plan for Revitalising Sports in India. Our target: 50 Olympic Medals!"

"We are a large and diverse nation. Sports can be a great means of national integration," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on NITI Aayog's website.

The points include targeting a group of priority sports, organisation of sportspersons into three groups for each priority sport, harnessing the potential of indigenous and regional sports, world class coaches and a grading system for coaches.

Special emphasis will be given to implement the National Sports Code and Sports Bill, to formulate an injury insurance scheme, strengthening and scaling-up of existing Sports Authority of India (SAI) training centres and facilitating creation of sports academies for individual sports among others.

Releasing the document, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said the short term and long term targets include winning at least 50 medals at the 2024 Olympics and to tap potential sportspersons from the tender age of eight years.

The panel has also advocated that the age limit for training of sportspersons be lowered from the current 12 years to eight years. Besides, the NITI Aayog has also advocated identifying talent for sports among five-year-old children.

It also felt that a few sports be identified as had been done by Kenya and Jamaica to help Indian young talents to excel.

"To improve the performance of sports and demonstrate medal winning performance, it is important to prioritize ten sports and develop an outcome oriented action plan for each of these sports. Countries like Kenya and Jamaica participate in only two Olympics sports but have managed to get a medal tally of 100 and 78 respectively," a NITI Aayog official said.

In the short term plans, the panel suggests facilitating creation of more sports academies for individual sports, implementing a National Sports Code and Sports Bill and the long term measures include development of sports infrastructure through PPP mode.

NITI Aayog officials said that the National Sports Code and Sports Bill, 2013, which is stuck for a long time, needs to be enacted at the earliest to ensure structural changes in policies concerning sports administrators and the coaches.

The bill seeks to fix terms and tenures of the sports administrators. The bill also seeks to fix age limit of sports administrators, a move allegedly opposed by the political class.

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News Network
May 9,2020

May 9: Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has donated an undisclosed amount to financially help 4,000 underprivileged people, including children from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) schools, amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tendulkar made the donation to the Hi5 Foundation, a non-profit organisation based out of Mumbai.

“Best wishes to team Hi5 for your efforts in supporting families of daily wage earners,” Tendulkar tweeted.

The organisation, through a tweet, thanked Tendulkar for doing his bit for the needy.

“Thanks @sachin_rt for proving once again that #sports encourages compassion! Your generous donation towards our #COVID19 fund enables us to financially aid 4000 underprivileged people, including children from @mybmc schools. Our budding sportspersons thank you, Little Master!”

The legendary batsman had earlier contributed Rs 25 lakh each to Prime Minister’s Relief Fund and Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for the country’s fight against COVID-19. Tendulkar had earlier pledged to bear the cost of feeding 5,000 people for a month in a couple of areas in Mumbai.

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News Network
January 30,2020

Hamilton, Jan 30: Caught unaware about the Super Over scenario, Rohit Sharma took five minutes to “find” his abdomen guard after the third T20 International against New Zealand had ended in a tie on Wednesday.

The India vice-captain said the team had almost given up with New Zealand going great guns at one point.

“Everything was packed. All my stuff was inside my bag. I had to get it out. It literally took me five minutes to find my abdomen guard because I didn’t know where it was,” Rohit said.

“I mean we never thought it would go to the Super Over, the way they were batting at one point. It looked like they could easily win the game,” he added.

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News Network
May 11,2020

Mumbai, May 11: The French Open, which was postponed to September from May due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, could be held without fans, the organisers of the claycourt Grand Slam have said.

Roland Garros had been scheduled for May 24 to June 7 before the French tennis federation (FFT) pushed it back to Sept. 20-Oct 4 in a bid to save the tournament from falling victim to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week the FFT said all tickets purchased for this year's French Open would be cancelled and reimbursed instead of being transferred.

"Organising it without fans would allow a part of the economy to keep turning, (like) television rights and partnerships. It's not to be overlooked," FFT President Bernard Giudicelli told French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche.

"We're not ruling any option out."

The tennis season was suspended in early March due to the pandemic and the hiatus will continue at least until mid-July with many countries in lockdown.

Wimbledon has been cancelled while the status of the U.S. Open, scheduled to take place in late August, is still unclear.

COVID-19 Pandemic Tracker: 15 countries with the highest number of coronavirus cases, deaths

The FFT was widely criticised when they announced in mid-March that the French Open would be switched, with players bemoaning a lack of communication as the new dates clashed with the hardcourt season.

Organisers said last week they had been in talks with the sport's governing bodies to fine tune the calendar amid media reports that the Grand Slam tournament would be delayed further by a week and start on Sept. 27.

The delayed start would give players a two-week window between the end of the U.S. Open, played on the hardcourts of New York, and the Paris tournament.

"The 20th or the 27th, that does not change much," Giudicelli said.

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