Sports Ministry cancels incentives for junior and sub-junior athletes

The Sports Ministry has done away with cash incentives for junior and sub-junior athletes. The revised policy came into effect on Saturday, February 1. A junior athlete was recently rewarded with Rs 13 lakh for bagging a gold medal in the Junior World Championship.

Another junior, who won a gold medal at the sub-junior level, was eligible for incentives worth Rs 6.66 lakh. The ministry canceled the incentives to curb the cases surrounding age fraud and doping and made the athletes work hard and be hungrier for success.

“We noticed that only India follows a model where junior championships are given over-importance. As a result, we have noticed that athletes work so hard at this level that by the time they reach the elite stage, they are either burnt out or have lost the hunger,” a Sports Ministry official was quoted as saying to The Indian Express.

The changes have been brought forth for "simplifying the disbursement of cash incentives to the medal winners in international sports event and their coaches."

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Rewards, incentives for para-athletes and coaches

The Sports Ministry, in the meantime, decided to reward para-athletes and coaches for their hard work. The para-athletes, who won medals in break-dancing, e-sports, and continental challenges championships of Yogasana, will be incentivized with cash rewards.

The Sports Ministry also increased the prize money for para-athletes, who are blind, deaf, and intellectually challenged. They will now get Rs 20 lakh for winning gold medals at any world event. For full prize money, 16 participating nations have to be there in individual events and 12 in team events.

Going by the revised policy, grassroots coaches will get 30 percent of the cash incentive. Coaches at the development level, who take athletes to “medal-winning sportspersons, will also be incentivized with 30 percent of the cash incentive."