The sports ministry has expanded the list of sports disciplines eligible for a cash incentive policy, under which medal winners in Mallakhamba, e-sports and even break-dancing, will be rewarded. The ministry, however, has scrapped such rewards for junior and sub-junior athletes even in Olympic disciplines.
The ministry has come out with a list of 51 sports that will be eligible for cash rewards, including all those which are a part of the Olympic Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and the World University Games roster. Also included in this list are kho-kho, which had its maiden World Cup in Delhi last month, Kurash (a form of wrestling practised in central Asia), and Ju-Jitsu (a martial art discipline which has its origins in Japan).
The ministry continues to have cash rewards for para-athletes and has decided to hike prize money for medal winners of events featuring deaf, blind and intellectually-challenged athletes. From a maximum of Rs 10 lakh earlier, these athletes can now earn Rs 20 lakh for a gold at a world event.
The policy also lays emphasis on increased incentives for coaches, with grassroots-level, developmental-level, and elite-level coaches receiving specified percentages of the athletes’ incentives.
While the ministry hasn’t offered an explanation regarding the scrapping of cash awards for junior athletes, who have relied heavily on these incentives to fund their equipment, nutritional supplements and coaching.
A junior athlete was earlier entitled to a little over Rs 13 lakh for winning gold at a quadrennial world championship, which was one-third of the prize money set aside for a similar achievement at the senior level. A sub-junior athlete could earn about Rs 6.66 lakh for a top finish at a quadrennial world competition.
In its circular, it said that the revision of the policy has been done “to simplify the disbursement of cash incentives to the medal winners in international sports events and their coaches”.
The new policy came into effect on February 1.
While the allocated prize money for medal-winners remains largely unchanged with an Olympic gold-winner eligible for the highest reward (Rs 75 lakh), the ministry has made it clear that it would not give any prize money for medals won at world or continental events where “the number of teams in any event is less than four.”
Continuing with the earlier policy, full prize money would be given if the participating countries are at least 16 in individual and 12 in team events. The reward would be halved in case the participation numbers do not touch at least eight in individual and six in team events.
“In any international sports event, if a sportsperson secures multiple medals in either individual or team categories, they shall be entitled to receive the cash incentive only for the highest-ranking medal won in that event,” the ministry further stated.
“However, in the case of Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Asian Games, and Para-Asian Games, a sportsperson who wins multiple medals in either individual or team categories shall be eligible to receive the cash incentive for each medal won,” it added.
The ministry has also decided to remove the South Asian Games from the list of eligible events for cash awards. Chess players, who were earlier entitled to Rs 4 lakh for attaining a Grandmaster title will no longer be considered for such a payout.