Vinayak Padmadeo
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, September 22
“Guru bin gyan adhura (Knowledge is incomplete without the teacher).” This was javelin ace Sundar Singh Gurjar’s response when asked about a pressing matter in the Para-athlete circle after the highs of Tokyo Paralympics, where the Indian contingent bagged 17 medals, including a record-haul of five gold medals.
The coaches, who have been assisting these athletes, have not been paid their cash awards for their trainees winning international medals since 2014.
As per the Sports Ministry’s Cash Awards Scheme, the coaches are to be paid 50 per cent “of the award money payable to the sportsperson (s) whom the set of coaches had coached”. The government hands over Rs 75 lakh for gold medal in Paralympics, Rs 50 lakh for silver medal and Rs 30 lakh for bronze medal to the athletes. Similarly, the athletes get Rs 30 lakh (for gold), Rs 20 lakh (for silver), Rs 10 lakh (for bronze) for medals in the Commonwealth and Asian Games, and Rs 20 lakh (for gold), Rs 14 lakh (for silver) and Rs 8 lakh (for bronze) for World Championship held biennially by the International Paralympic Committee.
Some of the coaches, including Gurjar’s coach Mahavir Bishnoi, Naval Singh, Satyanarayana, are still waiting for their dues. A few of the athletes, including Gurjar, had raised the issue with Sports Minister Anurag Thakur when they returned from Tokyo.
“How will players emerge if we don’t give the coaches their dues? In my own case my coach has not been rewarded for my medals. I won gold in 2017 World Championships, two medals in Asian Games, gold again in 2019 World Championships and now a medal in Tokyo Paralympics,” Gurjar told The Tribune during a felicitation ceremony here today.
“We raised this issue with Sports Minister Anurag Thakur when we returned. He told us ‘I am new in this ministry but I will act soon.’ I once again request the government to release the coaches’ dues,” Gurjar added.
Satyanarayana, who was one of the coaches in Tokyo, said he knows that there are at least 25-30 coaches who are still waiting for their dues.
“It is the government’s responsibility to see to it that the coaches are equally rewarded in time. If they hand over the cash prizes in time it is a big motivation. None of the coaches have been paid since 2014,” Satyanarayana said.
“Coaches can’t go begging to get their just rewards. I request the government to release the funds,” he added.
However, many of the dues have been pending owing to fine print as none of the coaches have been part of the camps for “at least 180 days in the preceding two year period before the event”.
“They (SAI) don’t hold camps for this long. How are we supposed to show this attendance? I hope better sense prevails and this matter ends soon for many of us,” said a coach who did not wish to be named.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
