Winter Olympics: Shiva Keshavan says athletes resorting to crowd funding due to fund crunch
NEW DELHI: Star Indian luger Shiva Keshavan has drawn attention of the government towards the plight of the country's 2022 Winter Olympics aspirants, saying they have resorted to crowd funding due to lack of financial support.
The Winter Olympics will be held in Beijing from February 4-20 next year.
"There are 150 days left for the Winter Olympics. A reminder to the government that not a single winter sports federation is currently recognised and eligible for funding in India," Keshavan tweeted.
"Athletes are doing crowdfunding online!," he added.
The 40-year-old Keshavan is a six-time Olympian and Inida's flag-bearer in the Winter Olympics.
He has been taking part in the Winter Olympics in luge men's singles since the 1998 Nagano Games in Japan He was also the Asian champion in 2011, 2012, 2016 and 2017 and holds the Asian record in luge.
In the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Keshavan and cross country skiier Jagdish Singh represented India.