The Karnataka government has constituted a high-level committee consisting of former India hockey player VR Raghunath, swimming coach Nihar Ameen and ace shuttler Anup Sridhar to identify 75 promising sportspersons from Karnataka for the Paris Olympics in 2024.
The eight-member committee, headed by Youth Empowerment and Sports Minister KC Narayana Gowda, consists of senior officials and the head of the Karnataka Olympic Association. According to the Government Order, each of the 75 sportspersons selected will receive Rs 5 lakh from the government for training, supplements, a sports kit and so on. This follows the announcement of the 'Amrith Sports Adoption' programme announced by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in his Independence Day speech.
Marking 75 years of Indian Independence, Bommai had announced that under the Amrith Sports Adoption programme, the state government will identify and train 75 sportspersons from across the state who have the potential to win medals — to compete in the Paris Olympics.
While Sridhar and Raghunath who are part of the committee are Arjuna awardees, Ameen is a Dronacharya award winner. The three are also part of the Talent Identification Development Committee (TIDC) that the government will constitute for every sport that is identified under the programme.
Noting that talent identification will be done scientifically, Minister Narayana Gowda in a statement said there will be training camps and tournaments to identify sports potential. "We want India to finish in the top ten at the Paris Olympics 2024. We want sportspersons from Karnataka to be the highest medal winners," he said.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot said he will gift Rs 1 lakh each to four sportspersons from Karnataka who participated in the recent Tokyo Olympics. They include Golfer Aditi Ashok, equestrian Fouaad Mirza, swimmer Srihari Nataraj and women's hockey coach Ankitha Suresh. According to a Raj Bhavan statement, the Governor will honour them at a soon to be organised function.