Sports Ministry grants ₹35 cr to SAI for TOPS athletes

The funds sought by athletes decreased in disciplines such as badminton, athletics, shooting and wieghtlifting while increased in boxing and chess.

Published : Feb 07, 2019 18:38 IST , New Delhi

Representative Image
Representative Image
lightbox-info

Representative Image

The Sports Ministry has granted ₹35 crores from its National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) to the Sports Authority of India (SAI) for customised training of athletes who are included in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS).

In addition, the Ministry has also disbursed an amount of ₹5.98 crore for athletes across 22 disciplines seeking funds from NSDF during 2018.

NSDF funds are allocated specifically for those athletes, who appeal for financial assistance from the government.

Replying to a question on the amount of funds disbursed, a complete data (till December 31, 2018) was released.

Read: Boxer Manoj fires fresh salvo at SAI

While ₹7.24 crore, ₹6.25 crore and ₹9.02 crore (all approx) were spent during financial years 2017-18, 2016-17 and 2015-16 respectively, the current year’s spending till December is ₹5.98 crore.

In most of the disciplines, funding sought has decreased with only ₹42.5 lakh disbursed in archery compared to ₹64 lakh during last financial year.

Similarly, assistance sought has decreased in athletics (₹1.04 crore to ₹87.5 lakh), badminton (₹35 lakh to ₹27.5 lakh), shooting (₹ 1.11 crore to ₹ 89.5 lakh), and weightlifting (₹40.5 lakh to ₹13.5 lakh).

The disciplines where more financial assistance was sought include boxing (₹52.5 lakh to ₹63.5 lakh) and chess (₹9.45 lakh to ₹38.58 lakh).

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment