Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : The year 2018 has turned out to be a landmark for India in terms of achievements in sports arena. Government’s two pronged approach to sports – nurture top sports talent and find untapped sports stars at the grassroots, has yielded positive outcome. India recorded its best ever performance this year in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games with 66 Medals, Jakarta Asian Games with 69 Medals and Para Asian Games with 72 Medals.
Khelo India School Games (KISG), 2018: The 1st Khelo India School Games, 2018, were held from January 31 to February 8, 2018, with 3,507 players from 29 States and 7 Union Territories participating at it including 331 from Maharashtra, 388 from Haryana, and 359 from Delhi. Altogether 1,178 sports talents were identified in 2018 and they will be imparted training for next 8 years with an annual expenditure of Rs 5 lakh on each athlete.
In Swimming, Srihari Natraj from Karnataka won 6 Gold Medals and 1 Silver Medal. He broke Senior National 100 Mtr Backstroke record in KISG 2018. He qualified for Asian age group and Youth Olympic Games. In Shooting, Manu Bhaker from Haryana with the score of 387 achieved the new National record Air Pistol Women Qualification round. In the finals also, Manu Bhaker with the score of 241.1 broke her own National record, achieved in Kerala, 2017. She is also quota winner of Youth Olympic Games, 2018. In Athletics, Abhishek Singh of UP won the Gold in Shotput with a throw of 18.73 m and was declared the best Boy athlete. In 100 m hurdles, Aparna Roy of Kerala secured the Gold medal with a timing of 14.02 sec and was declared the best Girl athlete.
Contribution of Rs 10 crore to National Sports Development Fund (NSDF): India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL) made contribution of Rs 10 crore to the NSDF. This was the third installment of contribution made by the IIFCL increasing the total contribution to Rs 30 crore. The IIFCL contribution is being utilized for promotion of sports in the disciplines Badminton, Archery and Para Sports by way of support to sportspersons in these disciplines for their customised training and other services and setting up of Academies/Support to Academies in these disciplines.
Performance in Commonwealth Games, 2018: India competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Gold Coast, Australia, from April 4 to 15, 2018. It was India’s 18th appearance at the Commonwealth Games. With 26 Gold medals and a total of 66 medals (26 Gold, 20 Silver and 20 Bronze), India finished 3rd at the event.
Gradation of LNIPE as Category-I Deemed to be University by UGC: University Grants Commission has recently graded the Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical Education, Gwalior, in the highest category i.e. Category-I Deemed to be University as per the provisions of the UGC. Prior to it, this Institute has been accredited as A++ by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and awarded with the “Excellent Institute of Physical Education in India” during 11th National Education Summit 2017.
Revision of Pension to Meritorious Sportspersons: In a major step for the welfare of Sportspersons, the Union Sports Minister approved the upward revision of pension to meritorious Sportspersons on June 7, 2018. Under the revision, the rate of pension has been doubled from the existing rate of pension on winning medals at international sports events. The new rates of pension range from minimum of Rs 12,000 to maximum of Rs 20,000 per month. The rate of pension of medal winners in the Para-Olympics Games and Para Asian Games will be at par with the medal winners in the Olympic Games and Asian Games respectively.
Scholarship programme under Khelo India: Following the successful conduct of the Khelo India School Games, the Department of Sports took another significant step towards the development of sports on July 22, 2018, and cleared 1,178 players for a scholarship programme under Khelo India Talent Identification Development scheme.
Under this programme, an annual stipend of Rs 1.2 lakh will be given to the players quarterly to meet their out of pocket expenses, treating injuries and even smaller but very important elements like local travel for themselves and their parents/ family members, according to a PIB release.