Bengaluru The Karnataka government on Friday said that it has devised a programme which aims to send 100 athletes from the state to the Paris Olympics in 2024 by providing them required money for training and other requirements.
KC Narayana Gowda, Karnataka’s minister for sericulture,youth empowerment and sports department on Friday said that a sum of ₹5 lakh would be given to such athletes and around 35 of them have already been identified.
However, former Olympians say that though the announcement is in the right direction, it all boils down to the execution.
A former Olympian, requesting anonymity, said: “It’s a welcoming gesture, but now it’s all about trying to get it done”.
He added that the reason why the state government is keen on such a programme is also because Karnataka had just three participants in the just concluded Tokyo Olympics.
India had sent its largest-ever contingent of 126 athletes across 18 different sport disciplines to Tokyo, which also became India’s most successful outing in the games ever with seven medals, including one gold in Javelin.
Karnataka, that has produced some of the most successful hockey players over the decades among other athletes in various disciplines has seen the quality of the sport come down over the years, largely due to red tape, a pattern seen in other states as well.
{{/usCountry}}Karnataka, that has produced some of the most successful hockey players over the decades among other athletes in various disciplines has seen the quality of the sport come down over the years, largely due to red tape, a pattern seen in other states as well.
{{/usCountry}}For the last nearly two decades, the head of Karnataka’s Olympic Association (KOA) has been headed by K Govindaraj, a Congress politician.
Govindraj took charge of KOA after his earlier stint as secretary of Karnataka Basketball Association.
According to the description of Govindraj in the KOA, he has transformed the body from “receiving” organization to a “giving entity”.
“Time was when the KOA sought government funds to even train sportspersons from Karnataka for the state games or the national games. But not any more. The KOA has initiated a number of measures beneficial to the sporting fraternity of the state,” according to the KOA.
However, the on-ground realities have painted a different picture as sports personalities losing out on opportunities for want of basic facilities is a story all of India’s athletes share.
MP Ganesh, one of Karnataka and India’s most celebrated Olympians, said that it takes a minimum of eight years to get someone ready for the Olympics if they are not already in the national circuit in their respective sport.
Ganesh was an integral part of India’s hockey team and was part of the bronze winning side in Barcelona in 1971 and participated in 1972 Munich Olympics.
He said that the government and authorities should fix its associations, support mechanism, technically qualified staff to identify talent and infrastructure among other requirements starting from the very basics.
“In my opinion, ₹5 lakh is a very meager amount,” he said.
He added that the government should be more aware of the ground realities before announcing such schemes.