P V Sindhu, Sakshi Malik received only 1.66% of total amount spent on Rio-bound athletes: Report

September 12, 2016

New Delhi, Sep 12: Rio Olympics medal winners P V Sindhu and Sakshi Malikreceived only 1.66 per cent, for their preparation for the international sporting event, of the Rs 36.85 crore spent by the government on the 117 Olympians who took part under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) launched last year, reported the Indian Express on Monday.

collageUnder TOPS, the government spent Rs 61.13 lakh on Sindhu and Malik, the report added.

Where did most of the funds go?

Citing data compiled on August 22, the national daily said that in some cases, a significant chunk of the funds was spent on athletes who turned out to be prominent under-performers. The report gave the example of the women’s relay squad, on which Rs 2.94 crore were spent, which finished seventh in their heats and did not qualify for the semi-finals.

Shooting, the country's most successful Olympic discipline in the last three games, received nearly half of the overall amount, the report said, putting the figure at Rs 15.39 crore.

The government spent that amount on the 12 shooters who went to Rio, according to the report, and 10 of them got more than Rs 1 crore each. India's medal-prospect in the discipline, Abhinav Bindra, received the highest amount among individual athletes at Rs 2.37 crore.

The report added that the second highest expenditure, according to the data, was incurred on athletics, with Rs 7.80 crore being spent on 30 out of the 36 athletes who qualified.

According to the report, of the total amount under TOPS, Rs 6.36 crore was spent on disciplines – badminton (Rs 3.84 crore) and wrestling (Rs 2.52 crore) – that did net India medals. The report added that Rs 45.27 lakh went to badminton silver medal-winner Sindhu and Rs 15.86 lakh to wrestling bronze medal-winner Sakshi.

However, in terms of return on investment, TOPS mostly missed out, with Rs 30.49 crore (out of the total of Rs 36.85 crore) being spent on disciplines which did not net India any medals, the report said. The report cited the example of discus thrower Vikas Gowda. Gowda, who the sportsministry saw as a medal-prospect, received Rs 1.02 crore but he finished 28th in his event.

What is TOPS?

Launched in March 2015, TOPS is a top-up funding scheme which is meant to fulfil the direct needs of Olympic athletes, including amount spent on personal coaches and support staff, travel and accommodation expenses during competitions and training, and equipment expenses.

According to the report, TOPS is over and above the central budget, which stands at Rs 750 crore for the period beginning from the start of 2012 to December 31, 2015, according to the previoussports minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

Did we spend enough?

India's expenditure on this account appears to fall short when compared to many other participating nations.

According to the report, in comparison to Great Britain, which spent $350 million on all its Rio-bound athletes, and Australia, which spent $332 million in the period between the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Olympics, India spent approximately $5.5 million under TOPS in the run-up to the Olympics.

Speaking to the national daily, Sports Minister Vijay Goel said: “If we want to broad-base our sport, we need more budget to provide infrastructure, training and coaches for our athletes. So definitely, we need a bigger budget.”

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News Network
March 2,2020

Mar 2: Indian captain Virat Kohli was left frustrated and deflated as New Zealand won the second Test inside three days in Christchurch on Monday to sweep the series.

India started the day at 90 for six and were all out for 124, before New Zealand chased down the required 132 to win for the loss of three wickets in 36 overs.

It ended a disappointing tour for India and Kohli as New Zealand, who won the first Test by 10 wickets early on day four, wrapped up the series with ease.

New Zealand are now unbeaten in their last 13 home Tests, winning nine of them, and in the past decade their record as hosts is played 39, won 20, drawn 13 and lost five.

In the latest series, on traditional New Zealand green wickets, India managed scores of 165, 191, 242 and 124, reflecting the low contributions from Kohli of 2, 19, 3 and 14.

Kohli came to New Zealand as the world's top Test batsman and oozing charm as he described New Zealand as the “nice guys” of cricket.

But during the series he lost his top ranking to Australian Steve Smith and when Kane Williamson went for three in the first innings of the second Test the pressure showed when he gave the New Zealand skipper a very animated send-off.

There was further evidence of frustration when he was caught on camera yelling an obscenity at a group of New Zealand supporters on Sunday.

The end came quickly for India on day three as Tim Southee and Trent Boult tormented the batsmen with their variety of inswing and outswing deliveries targeting both sides of the stumps.

Hanuma Vihari was the first to fall, in Southee's second over, when he turned a legside delivery too fine and was caught by BJ Watling diving to his left.

Five balls later and with no addition to the score, India's other overnight batsman Rishabh Pant was caught behind off a Boult delivery that swung away.

Mohammed Shami was caught for five by Tom Blundell at deep mid-wicket and Jasprit Bumrah was run out when trying to give the strike to Ravindra Jadeja, who was unbeaten on 16.

Boult and Southee signed for most of the dismissals with Boult taking four for 28 and Southee three for 36. The swing pair accounted for 25 of the 40 Indian wickets in the series.

There was enough seam and swing available for India to keep the New Zealand batsmen guessing but Bumrah and Umesh Yadav were unable to apply consistent pressure and Mohammed Shami was troubled by a sore shoulder.

New Zealand coasted through a century opening stand by Tom Latham and Blundell before losing three quick wickets.

Latham notched his 18th half-century and second of the Test before he was caught behind off Yadav for 52, Kane Williamson had a short stay for five, and Blundell went for 55.

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News Network
January 29,2020

New Delhi, Jan 29: Badminton champion Saina Nehwal joined the ruling BJP today and is likely to campaign for the party ahead of the February 8 Delhi election.

"I have won medals for the country. I am a very hardworking and I love hardworking persons. I can see Prime Minister Narendra Modi does so much for the country, I want to do something for the country with him," the shuttler said, wearing the BJP scarf.

"I draw a lot of inspiration from Narendra sir".

Haryana-born Saina Nehwal, 29, is a major acquisition for the party in the middle of the Delhi poll campaign; she is one of the most popular sportspersons in India with a huge fan following and brand value. She is preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

A former world number 1, she has been honoured with the country's top sporting awards like the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award. She was also awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2016.

The Badminton player has won over 24 international titles. In the London Olympics, she won a bronze. She was world number two in 2009 and number one in 2015.

With her tweets praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Saina Nehwal was widely seen to lean towards the BJP.

One of her tweets became controversial when it was found to be identical to several others in praise of a PM Modi speech last year. Saina was trolled on Twitter with screenshots of the identical tweets. She was also among the sportswomen who put up identical tweets on Diwali thanking PM Modi for his initiative to empower women, with the hashtag #bharatkilaxmi.

The BJP roped in many famous personalities last year, including cricketer Gautam Gambhir, who was elected MP from Delhi in the national election, and wrestler Babita Phogat. Just before the Haryana assembly polls, the party roped in wrestler Sushil Kumar, Babita Phogat and former Hockey team captain Sandeep Singh. Sandeep Singh won the election and was appointed minister.

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News Network
May 30,2020

St John's, May 30: The Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Saturday announced a temporary 50 per cent reduction in salaries and cricket funding across the entire regional cricket system, effective from the start of July due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic which resulted in the suspension of all the cricketing activities across the globe since March.

"This decision has been necessary in the face of debilitating economic challenges which have resulted from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. With no international cricket currently being played anywhere in the world, and with great uncertainty of when regular cricket activity will resume, CWI - like many other international sporting organisations worldwide - is facing a significant loss of income, whilst also being uncertain of the long-term impact of the crisis on our operations," the CWI said in a statement.

During Thursday's teleconference, CWI's Board of Directors received recommendations from the Financial Strategy Advisory Committee (FSAC). The FSAC was formed in April by CWI president Ricky Skerritt, to make recommendations on how CWI could best manage its resources in order to continue its core business over the next few months in view of the changing and uncertain economic environment created by the global pandemic COVID-19. These recommended measures followed close consultation with all stakeholders.

"Cricket is the beating heart of our region for many individuals, communities, and economies. This pandemic is hurting every West Indian and this decision to cut staff and player incomes has been a very difficult one to make; one that will impact so many members of the cricketing family around the Caribbean," Skerritt said.

"This business continuity plan, unfortunately, requires all stakeholders to make a huge sacrifice, but I am confident that it won't be long before CWI will be in a position to ensure that the sport we love can restart and be enjoyed once again by the thousands of cricket fans across the region and diaspora," he added.

CWI has kept staff, players, umpires and coaches on full-pay since the outbreak of COVID-19 and have tried our best to avoid any cuts for as long as possible. CWI hopes that these temporary measures will only be in place for not more than three to six months. These measures will also include a 50 per cent reduction in funding for Territorial Boards, Territorial Board Franchises and WIPA, as well as a 50 per cent cut in all retainers and allowances for Directors and Executive management.

Earlier in the day, CWI gave its approval for a 'bio-secure' Test tour to England.

West Indies were first slated to play three Tests against England in June, but the original starting date of the series was pushed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is looking to go ahead with the series against West Indies in July and then the Three Lions will play three Tests against Pakistan.

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