Hockey players to get ₹25,000 per month pocket allowance
It will be given to 40 men and 40 women, who will be nominated every month by Hockey India.
The Union Sports Minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, emphasised the importance of encouraging the hockey players and acknowledging their overall good performances in recent years.
The Minister also explained the elaborate plans to tap talent across the country with the help of technology, to ensure that every talented player gets a chance to hone his or her skills and realise his or her potential.
'Talent identification is a key area. The Government will soon launch a dedicated mobile application as part of the National Talent Repository System (NSRS). Anyone can upload a clip of talented youngsters from their neighbourhood, school, or village, across a wide range of sports disciplines. The videos will be studied by the zonal talent selection committees under the Khelo India scheme. Deserving candidates will be taken into Khelo India centres and given training, sports science support, nutrition guidance and mentorship,' said the Minister.
The Sports Minister stressed that a vast country like India would have potential champions in big numbers, and such talent needed to be spotted and guided for the country to become a sporting powerhouse.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Government funding for sports: Yoga gets biggest hike, assistance for football nearly halved
A massive increment for yoga; a minor reduction for athletics. Football's financial assistance reduced by almost half; a 50 per cent increase for table tennis. The sports ministry tabled the figures for the financial assistance it provides to the national federations during the ongoing monsoon session of the parliament. And yoga — a sport that doesn't feature in the government's list of high-priority disciplines but is aiming for a spot at major multi-sport games — has emerged as the biggest beneficiary. From a mere Rs 1.3 crore in 2022-23, Yogasana India has received almost a 400 percent hike in 2024-25 with the sports ministry allocating Rs 4.89 crore for the sport. In terms of percentage, it is the highest among the 25 sports listed by Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya in his reply in the Rajya Sabha, responding to a question from BJP MP Sadanand Tanavde. Yoga's funding from the government is almost as much as chess, which has been allocated Rs 5.2 crore for 2024-25, and more than sports such as basketball (Rs 4.75 crore in 2024-25), volleyball (Rs 4.39 crore) and squash (Rs 4.45 crore). 'As a federation, we started getting funding very recently from the government. Unlike many other sports that have come to India from abroad, we are taking India's heritage to the world. For that, we need to do substantial work,' Yogasana India president Udit Sheth said. Meanwhile, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) saw its government assistance reduced by nearly 50 percent, down from Rs 15 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 8.78 crore in 2024-25. However, compared to 2023-24, when it received Rs 6.95 crore, football has seen a small increment. But the sport remains one of the biggest losers of public funds in the last few years, with its share reducing from Rs 30 crore in 2019-20 to the present level. Other major sports like athletics and boxing, too, have seen minor reductions. In the case of athletics, the allocation has come down from Rs 30 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 26 crore in 2024-25 while the Boxing Federation of India's share has gone down by Rs 2 crore — from Rs 24 crore in 2022-23 and 2023-24 to Rs 22 crore in 2024-25. At the same time, table tennis' funding has increased from Rs 8 crore in 2022-23 to Rs 12 crore in 2024-25. 'Our requirements have changed and so have our goals,' said Table Tennis Federation of India secretary general Kamlesh Mehta. 'Earlier, we went to participate. Now, we are in the pursuit of excellence. We don't just send players and coaches, an entire team of support staff travels with them; the number of tournaments we participate in has increased as well.' A sports ministry official said the 'minor fluctuations' are par for the course depending on the needs of each federation. 'At the start of every calendar year, multiple meetings are held between the federation and the Sports Authority of India. Based on that, and the reasoning each federation gives, the financial assistance for them is decided,' the official said. While yoga's budget is still minuscule compared to the mainstream sports in which India regularly competes at the world level, there has been an increased push to take the sport — as Sheth puts it — from 'ashrams to arenas'. Yoga will be a demonstration sport at next year's Asian Games in Japan and India is likely to include it in the programme for the 2030 Commonwealth Games, if the country wins the hosting rights. It is also one of the sports on the shortlist to be included if India's ambitious bid for the 2036 Olympics is successful. 'This is our soft power. Next year, yoga will be included as a demo sport at the Asian Games. We have a lot of work to do to make it a regular sport,' Sheth added.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Khelo India Water Sports Festival 2025: Top National, International Athletes To Vie For 24 Gold Medals
The best national athletes in the country will vie for the 24 gold medals at stake in the inaugural Khelo India Water Sports Festival to be held at the iconic Dal Lake. The three-day event will see more than 400 compete for the medals events – rowing, canoeing and kayaking. The Khelo India Water Sports Festival 2025 will be the first consolidated Open-age category championships where all 14 kayaking and canoeing events and the 10 rowing events are Olympic events. To add to the glamour of the Water Games, there will be three demonstration events – water skiing, shikhara boat spring and dragon boat race. The KIWSF will see 36 states and Union Territories in action. Among them, all eyes will be on athletes from Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Kerala. 'Since Services will not take part in these Games as a team, it will be good to see how the states compete and perform. The course has been prepared keeping all international specifications in mind and we are all set to go,' said competition manager Bilquis Mir, a former World Cupper canoeist and an Olympic judge. The Khelo India Water Sports Festival is a new addition to the Khelo India calendar. In 2025, two new events have been added. The Khelo India Beach Games took place in Diu in May. As per the Khelo Bharat Niti, both the Water Games and Beach Games are aimed at promoting sports and attracting tourism. Suhani Meena, a water sports athlete from Madhya Pradesh, who will participate in rowing said she was elated at being in Kashmir. 'This is a great opportunity for water sports athletes since we only a few opportunities throughout the year to participate in a national-level event. Now the Khelo India Water Sports Festival 2025 will give us a chance to excel,' she said. For kayaking and canoeing, the last nationals held at Tehri (Uttarakhand) in November have been used as a qualifier. The top 15 in singles and doubles and the top eight fours will be participating in KIWSF. For rowing, the top eight from the nationals held in Bhopal in March this year will take part. There will be international flavor as well. Arjun Lal Jat, an Army rower who will represent Delhi, will be one of the main attractions. Jat, 28, has taken part in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and won silver in the light-weight double sculls at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou. 'This is my first Khelo India event and I will participate in men's single sculls. I expect each participating team to deliver their best. Khelo India is very well supported by the Government of India. Such events should happen more as it will provide a platform to the athletes of Jammu and Kashmir to represent India at the international level,' said Jat. The Water Games will see almost equal representation from men and women. Of the 409 athletes competing for medals, 202 will be female. Madhya Pradesh (44), Haryana (37), Odisha (34) and Kerala (33) will have the largest contingent at KIWSF 2025. Gujarat, Puducherry and West Bengal will have the smallest teams.
Mint
5 hours ago
- Mint
Khelo India Water Sports Festival 2025: Top national, international athletes to vie for 24 gold medals
The best national athletes in the country will vie for the 24 gold medals at stake in the inaugural Khelo India Water Sports Festival (KIWSF) to be held at the iconic Dal Lake in Srinagar. The three-day event will see more than 400 compete for the medals events – rowing, canoeing and kayaking. The Khelo India Water Sports Festival 2025 will be the first consolidated Open-age category championships where all 14 kayaking and canoeing events and the 10 rowing events are Olympic events. To add to the glamour of the Water Games, there will be three demonstration events – water skiing, shikhara boat spring and dragon boat race. The KIWSF will see 36 states and Union Territories in action. Among them, all eyes will be on athletes from Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Kerala. 'Since Services will not take part in these Games as a team, it will be good to see how the states compete and perform. The course has been prepared keeping all international specifications in mind and we are all set to go,' said competition manager Bilquis Mir, a former World Cupper canoeist and an Olympic judge. The Khelo India Water Sports Festival is a new addition to the Khelo India calendar. In 2025, two new events have been added. The Khelo India Beach Games took place in Diu in May. As per the Khelo Bharat Niti, both the Water Games and Beach Games are aimed at promoting sports and attracting tourism. Suhani Meena, a water sports athlete from Madhya Pradesh, who will participate in rowing said she was elated at being in Kashmir. 'This is a great opportunity for water sports athletes since we only a few opportunities throughout the year to participate in a national-level event. Now the Khelo India Water Sports Festival 2025 will give us a chance to excel,' she said. For kayaking and canoeing, the last nationals held at Tehri (Uttarakhand) in November have been used as a qualifier. The top 15 in singles and doubles and the top eight fours will be participating in KIWSF. For rowing, the top eight from the nationals held in March this year will take part. There will be international flavor as well. Arjun Lal Jat, an Army rower who will represent Delhi, will be one of the main attractions. Jat, 28, has taken part in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and won silver in the light-weight double sculls at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou. 'This is my first Khelo India event and I will participate in men's single sculls. I expect each participating team to deliver their best. Khelo India is very well supported by the Government of India. Such events should happen more as it will provide a platform to the athletes of Jammu and Kashmir to represent India at the international level,' said Jat. The Water Games will see almost equal representation from men and women. Of the 409 athletes competing for medals, 202 will be female. Madhya Pradesh (44), Haryana (37), Odisha (34) and Kerala (33) will have the largest contingent at KIWSF 2025. Gujarat, Puducherry and West Bengal will have the smallest teams. Nitish Chaudhary from Rajasthan, a two-time national silver medalist, said: 'For a water sports person like me, this climate and the facilities here are amazing. I am getting a chance to meet other sportspersons from different parts of the country and learning from their experiences.' Three gold medals – all in kayaking and canoeing -- will be decided on Day 1 on Thursday. All 10 rowing finals are slotted on the final day on August 3. The opening ceremony, expected to be attended by the Union Minister of State Srimati Raksha Khadse among other dignitaries of Jammu and Kashmir, will be held Thursday evening from 6 PM IST.
