Highlights:
- India won bronze at Tokyo Olympics 2020 after defeating Germany 5-4
- The government has spent more than ₹ 50 crore on the men’s hockey team in the last 5 years
The Indian men’s hockey team that won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 on Thursday, beating Germany 5-4 in the bronze medal match, has received a total funding of more than ₹ 50 crore in the last five years since 2016.
The team which only managed to finish 8th in the Rio Olympics 2016 after they lost to Belgium in the quarter-finals, has received over ₹ 50 crore as part of the Annual Calendar for Training and Competitions’ (ACTC) funding.
The Sports Authority of India, on Thursday, informed that apart from the ₹ 50 crore spending, the team also received ₹ 16.80 lakh under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). This brings the total government contribution in their preparation over the last five years to Rs. 50,19,80,000 (₹ 50.2 crore).
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The team was stuck at the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) Bengaluru centre for the entire duration of the nationwide lockdown in 2020 and had mostly trained at home last year owing to the restrictions put in place due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Apart from the fundings mentioned above, the Indian men’s Hockey team also received visa assistance for the several international competitions and foreign training trips.
The services of the team’s physiotherapist was also funded by the government under TOPS.
In the last 5 years, the players of the Indan Hockey squad have also received an out-of-pocket allowance of ₹ 50,000 per month for two months during the 2018 Asian Games which was held in Jakarta. The players were also paid an out of pocket allowance of ₹ 50,000 per month from March 2021 till August 2021, SAI said.
The foreign exposure trips of the Indian men’s Hockey team along with the national coaching camps, coaches and the support staff’s remuneration and training equipment were also provided under ACTC.