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

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

Rio Olympics medal winners P V Sindhu and Sakshi Malik received 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.

Under 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 sports ministry saw as a medal-prospect, received Rs 1.02 crore but he finished 28th in his event.

What is TOPS?

Did we spend enough?

Indian officials' absence force O P Jaisha to run Rio marathon without water

Indian officials' absence force O P Jaisha to run Rio marathon without water

To say that Indian athletes are not new to indifference from sports authorities would not be an understatement. O P Jaisha’s divulgence of her collapse at the end of taxing 42 km women's marathon at Rio Olympics 2016 brings to light the suffering of the athletes.

In an interview to Times of India, Jaisha said she collapsed after the run as she was deprived of the basic need- water. Talking about the irresponsible behavior of the Indian officials, Jaisha said there was nobody present from the India to provide the national record holder with refreshments.

"Though there were officials from all other countries to provide refreshments to their runners at designated points - after every 2.5 km - there was no one from India and our desks were empty next to the country's name and flag," said Jaisha.(more)

Here's how coach Gopichand made India proud

Here's how coach Gopichand made India proud

“It is the coaching which is vital. We must have a better system, somehow. We lack scientific training or proper coaching programmes at all levels, particularly grass root level,” said Pullela Gopichand in an interview with Rediff.com in January 2001. Gopichand won the prestigous All-England Championships in the same year and attained a career-best ranking of five.

What Gopichand really craved for was an Olympic medal but unfortunately couldn’t win in his playing career. As a coach though he has been instrumental in winning two medals for India at the Olympics. In 2012, Gopichand was the national team coach when Saina Nehwalscooped the bronze medal. PV Sindhu’s silver medal in Rio Olympics cements Gopichand’s legacy in the history of Indian sport.

It all started eight years back when his academy started fucntioning in 2008. Gachibowli in Hyderabad is an area where a lot of IT companies have built their offices. The Indian School of Business’ campus is also around. Amidst this corporate high-rises, a nondescript looking building is where Gopichand’s academy is situated. In the last eight years, India has seen the rise of many talented players like Parupalli Kashyap, Kidambi Srikanth, and they all have been coached by Gopichand. Both Srikanth and Kashyap broke into the world top 10 as have Nehwal and Sindhu. (more)

PV Sindhu's performance is worth its weight in gold

PV Sindhu's performance is worth its weight in gold

For people who have seen India struggle at the Olympics over the last two decades, it’s extremely hard to describe PV Sindhu’s performance in the semi final at Rio Olympics 2016. Here was a 21-year-old Indian girl dishing out badminton to an opponent ranked higher than her. This isn’t supposed to be a part of the script – this is the Olympics where Indians come, fight hard, come close to winning medals but agonizingly fall short. Not this time though– not with Sindhu in scintillating form and showcasing her talent to the world.

Indian sport fans over the years — especially at the Olympics — have come to expect a certain kind of performance, behavior and body language from Indian athletes at the highest level. But there was something different about Sindhu — she was different, aggressive, and assertive and went for the kill.

It’s strange and uncanny as badminton is a sport that is not taken seriously in India. Partly because after cricket it is one sport which most of us have played — be it in the compound of our society, in school or perhaps a bit at amateur level. But it’s a sport where there is a sense of discerning entitlement. It’s a sport where there is a sense of familiarity and perhaps badminton is one sport where most Indian fans were expecting a medal — not because of Sindhu but because of Saina Nehwal. Read more

Rio Olympics 2016 Games

Rio Olympics: Spirited Sakshi Malik ends India's medal drought with a bronze in wrestling

A diminutive 23-year-old girl from Mokhra village near Rohtak in Haryana, Sakshi Malik, touched glory at the Rio Olympics on Wednesday by reaching out and grabbing the only medal India has been able to win at the 31st Olympiad.

What's even more astonishing and historic is that she is the only Indian woman wrestler to have ever won a medal at the Olympic games.

Sakshi brought an end to India's long medal wait, when every hopeful had failed one by one. She clinched the bronze in the Women's Freestyle 58kg category with a spirited comeback victory over Aisuluu Tynybekova of Kyrgyzstan.

The young wrestler overturned a 0-5 deficit in a hectic second round to script an 8-5 victory in the medal bout at the Carioca Arena 2 here.

WATCH Video: Moment when #SakshiMalik 's family saw their daughter end India's medal drought at the Rio Olympics.