SAG: Medals galore but where is cash incentive?

Indian athletes have swept the South Asian Games, fetching medals in almost all the disciplines but there has been no cash incentive or encouragement from the government, lamented chef-de-mission Paresh Nath Mukherjee.

He said the government only rewards the Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games' heroes but ignores those who shine at South Asian Games.

Urging the government and corporates to encourage the South Asian Games medal winners, Mukherjee said the mindset has to change.

"As a nation, in the arena of sport, We get maximum number of medals at the South Asian Games. Our national pride in the field of sport is established in the SAF region. Medals galore but where is the cash incentive for our sport persons?" he asked.

"In Asian Games there are cash incentives, for Commonwealth Games there are cash incentives but for the winners in South Asian Games, where we reign supreme, there is no cash award," Mukherjee told PTI.

"In Olympic Games, we are nowhere, we are not a force in Asian Games either. But we don't give any importance to South Asian Games. As we win, we think it's no competition.

"First we must talk about all the medals in SA Games, then we must talk about Asian Games then we should aim for Olympics. But in our country, we are thinking of Olympic Games without giving any importance to South Asian Games," Mukherjee said.

"It should be most important for us. Here we matter. It has to be like a ladder. First you excel in class 10, then you graduate and then you post-graduate. You cannot think of becoming a post-graduate before clearing class 10," he quipped.

"We must realise how important these game are for us. The government should encourage the winners by paying at least Rs 2 lakh, Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000 each to gold, silver and bronze medals. Similarly they must think about some incentives for the team medal winners. They must encourage.

"It will not cost them more than a couple of crores. We are spending millions on foreign coaches, can't we encourage the medal winners by giving them some cash incentive?" he asked.

He also criticised the media for not giving enough coverage to South Asian Games.

"For Olympic games, you would see a lot of media delegation following. But there is hardly any coverage for these Games. This mindset has to be change and media has to play a role in changing the mindset," he added.

At the midway stage, India dominate the medals tally with 20 gold, six silver and eight bronze medals.