Junior Indian athletes to lose out on cash prize for international medals under new policy

In a blow to the incentive scheme for junior athletes winning international medals, none would be rewarded with cash prizes under major Sports Ministry policy shift, which came into effect on February 1. This policy aims at dealing with twin menace of age fraud and doping while keeping youngster’s hunger alive.

Per an older incentive scheme, an athlete winning a gold medal at the Junior World Championship would pocket a cash prize worth INR 13 lakh, while those achieving a podium finish would be rewarded with an INR 5 lakh incentive. However, per a source close to the information, the government has taken this step to promote junior competitions as developmental events rather than making it about the podium finish.

“We noticed that only India follows a model where junior championships are given over-importance. As a result, we have noticed that athletes work so hard at this level that by the time they reach the elite stage, they are either burnt out or have lost the hunger,” an unnamed Sports Ministry official said, as quoted by the Indian Express.

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Besides, the award policies for the senior athletes have also been rewritten. The Sports Ministry has removed two mega events – the Commonwealth Championships and the South Asian Games - from the awards list, with the Chess players winning Grandmaster or International Master will no longer be awarded.

This step, however, was taken to ensure the senior athletes remain focused to compete in tougher and important international events such as continental and world cups/championships. 

More changes

Following shooter Manu Bhaker’s twin medal wins at the Summer Olympics in Paris last year, the Ministry will now reward the sportsperson and their respective coaches for ‘each medal won’ at the Olympic Games and World Championships. Outside of this, the akhara or academy where a medalist trained will also be eligible for awards.

Another impactful pointer from the revised policy includes the scrapping of a clause that barred an athlete’s “spouse, father, mother, brother and sister” from receiving the award.

Meanwhile, cash incentives from the government pushed the athletes and their coaches into committing age fraud and getting involved in the doping scene. Per a report, the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) data tells a worrying story, which states as of January 13, more than 10% of the dope offenders in the country since 2022 are minors – 22 out of 104. 

“It can be said that the cash awards are one of the reasons athletes are lured into adopting unfair means. Most of them come from humble backgrounds, so it is a case of high risk, high reward for them,” another unnamed official said. 

(With inputs from agencies)