The Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs in India received an increment of 11 per cent in the Union Budget 2023 for the 2023-24 fiscal year at the Parliament on Wednesday. The revised Budget for the previous cycle stood at Rs 2673.35 crore. This time, the figure reads Rs 3,397.32 crore — the highest-ever allocation for the Ministry since the 2010 Commonwealth Games season.
Top Indian paddler A Sharath Kamal, who will compete at the Asian Games and Paris Olympics in 2024, feels the raise in amount will enhance investment and encourage parents to let their child focus on sports as a career, besides upgrading infrastructure. "When the government increases the budget, the focus on that particular field is higher. It will encourage other stakeholders to invest.
"It will convince parents of budding youngsters that there is money in sports which can help them grow as a professional. We are slowly getting there. And when more money comes in, there will be more opportunities. The athletes can go that extra mile," he told moneycontrol.com.
Infrastructure
Kamal, who received the Khel Ratna Award in 2022, believes such a budget can solve infrastructure-related problems. "With a budget like this, you can invest more in infrastructure. Otherwise, it is more or less like making ends meet, trying to support top athletes and bringing in the grassroots, etc. Training in international arenas is crucial too," added the table tennis star, who won gold in men's singles at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in Birmingham.
He reasoned that the increased budget could lead to more job opportunities in sports. "Not just for athletes, it can create many job opportunities for the ecosystem.
Expert training
Swimmer Maana Patel, the only Indian woman to qualify for Tokyo Olympics 2020, lauded the government for pushing the flagship programme Khelo India. But she also stressed the need for international coaches and trainers. "The budget is incredible. The Khelo India Games boosted the sports culture in the country. A lot of people are taking up sports after the University games," said the 22-year-old.
Khelo India will get Rs 1,000 crore, an increase of Rs 400 crore from the revised allocation of Rs 600 crore in the previous cycle. The budget for the tournament has only gone up since the inaugural year, 2018.
Maana believes India has a good infrastructure for swimming, but there are no expert coaches. "We have good facilities, but now, we should look into hiring human resources. We can get technical coaches, some of the best physiotherapists and strength and conditioning coaches. If we invest in human resources, it will be great.
"We need expert coaches to come here and work with us long-term. Sometimes, it becomes hard to keep travelling as we already travel for the tournaments. Athletes need to stay in one place and get help from outside. All this while, we have been able to get these best coaches for 10 or 12 days during a camp. It will be great to allocate some money and allow them to work with us for a longer time," she said.
Boxer Amit Panghal wants to train outside the country during the off-season. "If we can go outside the country and train when there are no tournaments, it will help the boxers. It cannot happen right before a tournament. Let's say we go for two months, return to India and then leave for the competition. We have international coaches with us, but it will be great to travel to the US and the UK to train with the boxers there," he said.
The Sports Authority of India, which appoints coaches and oversees the training of national teams, has the power to fulfil the wishes of the athletes. They have Rs 785.5 crore for the next cycle, an increase from the last budget of Rs 749.43 crore.
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