The Sports Ministry has revised its Scheme of Assistance to National Sports Federations (ANSF), significantly increasing financial support for organising international events in India, with up to Rs 50 crore available. The new guidelines also maintain funding for National Championships, introduce assistance for National Games, and outline plans for Olympic Training Centres, aligning with India's 2036 Olympic bid and 2030 Commonwealth Games aspirations.
Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi has launched the 'Shaktidoot 2.0' statewide sports scheme, significantly increasing financial assistance for athletes up to Rs 50 lakh. The initiative also focuses on identifying grassroots talent, supporting differently-abled players, and inaugurating sports complexes and libraries worth over Rs 388 crore. The scheme introduces a transparent, performance-based selection process and immediate aid for exceptional non-scheme players.
The state-run Pakistan Sports Board is only funding a fraction of the country's 248-member Asian Games contingent, with many athletes and officials relying on federations, the POA, or self-financing. The Pakistan Olympic Association secretary, Khalid Mahmood, confirmed that self-funded medal winners would be compensated and highlighted Pakistan's medal hopes across various disciplines.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met India's Asian Games medal-winners, including the gold-winning cricket teams, on Thursday. He praised their achievements, highlighting India's growing strength in sports and its ambition to become a credible host for major international events, including a bid for the 2036 Olympics. Modi also emphasised the government's support for athletes and urged medallists to mentor the next generation.
Rower Satnam Singh, who clinched a historic bronze medal in the men's double sculls at the 2026 Asian Games, stated the achievement belonged not just to him but to India's 1.4 billion people, marking the country's first medal in the event since 1951.
Union Minister Suresh Gopi announced that the Centre and Union Sports Ministry are fully supporting Indian long jumper Murali Sreeshankar's urgent surgery in London. Sreeshankar, who won a silver at the Asian Games but sustained an injury, will undergo ligament reconstruction on October 13, with the Centre covering all costs to ensure his return to competition and preparation for the Olympics. The athlete had previously expressed disappointment over the lack of support from the Kerala state government.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara has provided international-standard pole vaulting equipment and financial aid to Sindhushree Ganesh, who will represent India at the Asian Games. Sindhushree, from an underprivileged background, has overcome challenges to achieve national recognition in pole vault, fulfilling her late father's dream.
Indian Grandmaster Nihal Sarin discusses fellow world champion D Gukesh's recent performance slump, attributing it to a lack of confidence rather than a decline in skill. Sarin expresses hope that the upcoming Chess Olympiad will help Gukesh regain his form. He also shares his views on the increasing role of AI in chess, the evolution towards faster formats, and potential improvements in the chess ecosystem.
With an eye to enhance India's medal hopes in this year's Rio Olympics, the Sports Ministry has sanctioned financial assistance to boxers Vikas Krishan and Sumit Sangwan, female discuss thrower Seema Antil Punia and shooter Chain Singh.
The Sports Ministry cleared the three Indian athletes qualified for next month's Winter Olympics at government cost despite the trio taking part in the Sochi Games as independent athletes.
The Sports Ministry released financial assistance of Rs 1018.90 lakh on Monday from its National Sports Development Fund for imparting customised training to elite athletes, who are medal prospects in the London Olympics and other major international events.
A three-pronged investigation will take place into alleged state aid for several La Liga clubs, including Real Madrid and Barcelona, the European Commission said on Wednesday.
A day after sports ministry made it clear that athletes who remain unavailable for national duty would not get financial aid from it, top tennis star Leander Paes said his commitment should not be questioned since he has given his all in the last 24 years while playing for India.
'I still have the exact budget which I had in 2018 when I was ranked 350. It's that when I needed the most which is right now, I see people turning around and walking away.'
Sangeeta received the Indian team call-up after impressing in the age-group tournaments but before her dream to play for the senior national side could take flight, the pandemic struck leading to a nationwide lockdown.
Former India footballer and hero of the 1956 Olympic team, Syed Abdus Salam is bed-ridden and facing a financial crisis.
IOA also said that the member State Olympic Associations "will also receive a sum of Rs 15 lakh each, as a contribution from IOA towards developing sports infrastructure in the states and in encouraging more athletes to take up sports."
While many Western countries, including the United States, Britain and Australia, are diplomatically boycotting the Winter Olympics over China's human rights record, Putin will join a number of Beijing-friendly leaders at the Games.
Asian Games medal winner Fouaad Mirza called for financial help in popularising equestrian in India, saying the government can take a cue from European nations such as the United Kingdom and Germany.
Palak is certain to make the cut for Tokyo Paralympics in women's doubles as she is currently ranked fifth in the world. The top six in the list to be published by International Paralympic Committee will get automatic qualification.
Athletics superpower Russia is running out of time to eradicate doping and may not be able to send a track and field team to this year's Rio Olympics, Dick Pound, chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) independent commission, said on Wednesday.
Star gymnast Dipa Karmakar's coach Bisweshwar Nandi has dismissed the notion that it would have been better had the medalists and other top performers at the Rio Games been given financial before their sojourn to Brazil.
The professional tennis circuit, which requires players to jet around the world, was forced into shutdown in early March as countries went into lockdown and closed their borders to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Hussain will now be deported as his visa expired in August.
BCCI's decision to not send Indian teams for the Asian Games drew sharp criticism from the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) on Saturday, which accused the influential cricket board of treating the sport just as a business venture.
Tickets for matches in Brasilia have already been on sale for months and it remains unclear how fans, many of whom may have bought flights and booked hotels, would be reimbursed
