CHENNAI: Going by the sports ministry’s response in the Rajya Sabha, Craig Fulton is the highest-paid foreign coach engaged by a National Sports Federation in the country. Fulton, the sports ministry revealed while replying to a query on the engagement of foreign coaches, draws an amount of Euro 24,286 (₹21.7 lakh) a month.
The head coach of the men’s team has been drawing the salary since April 26, 2023, and his contract runs until December 31, 2028, after the Los Angeles Olympics. As for the "expenditure incurred" on foreign coaches, the ministry says, “The National Sports Federations (NSFs) are allowed to hire foreign experts on their own within the budget allocated by the Government.”
The South African’s contract was extended after India’s bronze medal at the Paris Olympics. Interestingly, Fulton draws double the amount any other foreign coach engaged in the country. Fulton’s predecessor Graham Reid was getting USD15,000 per month. Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandviya was responding to a query by Rajya Sabha MP Anil Kumar Yadav Mandadi on December 5. While it is not clear since when Fulton has been drawing this amount, this could be after the Paris Olympics.
Take for instance Klaus Bartonietz, the German bio-mechanic specialist who has helped Neeraj Chopra win multiple medals (gold and silver) at successive Olympics and World Championships. The foreign coach was drawing USD 10,101 (₹8.57 lakh) per month. He has been attached with Neeraj since his injury in 2019. Meanwhile, Scott Simmons, the middle and long-distance coach, was drawing more USD 11,364 (₹9.64 lakh) per month.
At USD 10,732 per month, Jason Dawson, sprints coach, was drawing more than Klaus. Athletics had engaged some ten foreign coaches, masseurs and recovery experts. One Dr Silva, a recovery expert, was drawing $10,000. All their contracts were until the Olympics this year. Most of their contracts, according to the Rajya Sabha reply, were until Olympics 2024. South Korean coach Baek Woongki, who felt humiliated for not being given accreditation to accompany the archers inside the Games Village at the Paris Olympics, was drawing USD 10,000 (₹8.43 lakh) per month. The coach left after the Paris Games where the players missed his expertise and had to rely on Indian coaches.
If athletics engaged some ten coaches and other experts, hockey topped the charts. Over a period of three-four years, (period extending from 2021), they have engaged about a dozen foreign experts, including coaches. The salary increased too. According to the "Details of foreign coaches engaged along with expenditure incurred" presented in the Rajya Sabha, there has been an increase in salary for the new set of support staff of Fulton.
Take for instance Rhett Halkett, analytical coach, whose contract runs until December 31 (from April 2023) is getting paid USD 11428.57 (₹9.7 lakh) per month. Earlier, when Reid was the head coach, his analytical coach was drawing USD 9000 per month. Scientific advisor to the men’s team Alan Tan is drawing USD 9000 and his contract runs until the end of the year. The Hockey India and SAI will be appointing a new analytical coach soon and it needs to be seen if Tan will continue.
Dave Smolenaars, analytical coach of the women’s team is engaged for USD 10,000 per month until December 2028. Former women’s head coach Janneke Schopman was getting USD 9750 before she left the job. Former High-Performance Director (HPD) in boxing Bernard Dunne had to leave mid-way because of a fight between the Boxing Federation of India and him. Dunne was getting paid Euro 11250 (₹10 lakh). Interestingly, the Rajya Sabha reply says he was paid till September 2024 whereas he left India in February/March. The sport has fired blanks at the Paris Olympics. Dimitry Dimitruk, the other coach is paid Euro 7500.
Badminton, another sport that went blank at the Paris Olympics, engaged around eight coaches in the last two to three years until the Olympics. The highest paid among them were Park Tae Sang (South Korean), Agus Dwi Santoso (Indonesia) and Mathias Boe (Denmark) were drawing USD 10,000 per month. Agus and Park were personal coaches of PV Sindhu from 2021 to 2024. Boe had been with men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty until the Olympics where the pair lost in the quarterfinals.
Table tennis foreign coach Massimo Costantini draws USD10000 from May this year to March next. Shooting HPD Pierre Beauchamp too was getting USD 10,000.
Compared to the foreign coach’s salaries, a top Indian coach gets about Rs 2.25-2.50 lakh, while mid-level coaches get about a lakh. Indian coaches had been raising this issue of parity in salary.
* Conversions are in current rates