CHENNAI: In a big lift for sports not affiliated to Indian Olympic Association (IOA), the Sports Ministry promised on Tuesday that it will bear the cost of kits and uniforms for Asian Games-bound athletes.
This development comes a day after Express had reported that kurash, pencak silat, sambo, bridge, soft tennis, sepak takraw, sports climbing and roller skating were sweating about bearing their own cost for clothes and equipment.
The IOA had asked those eight federations to pay for the clothes their athletes will wear in Jakarta and Palembang. Now those athletes can focus on their games instead after Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore intervened. “NO team participating in #AsianGames2018 will have to bear the expenses of kit & uniform by themselves I have directed @IndiaSports @Media_SAI to issue kits and apparel to EVERY team representing India,” Rathore tweeted.
The kits include everything from ceremonial wear — Team India blazers during the Opening and Closing Ceremonies — to training and in-competition kits.Earlier, though IOA president Narinder Batra had told this newspaper that it was a misunderstanding and the money spent by the aforementioned bodies would be reimbursed, the matter was unclear with officials from affected federations voicing their concerns.
The federations had also been asked to take care of Team India jackets the athletes will have to wear during medal ceremonies. The estimated cost per athlete is around `30,000 to `35,000. A total of eighty-three (of the 541) athletes from the eight federations would have had to bear costs for the kits if the ministry had not intervened.
A pencak silat coach offcial welcomed the news. “I’m really delighted. Given that he was a champion shooter during his playing days, the Sports Minister understands the needs of the athletes. This should encourage our athletes to give their 100 per cent,” the official said.