The government has decided to spend enormously on women’s sports in India.
Supported by the success of India’s female athletes on the global sporting stage over the years, especially at the multisport events counting the Olympics, the government has reserved a fund of Rs 15.03 crore solely to organize the Khelo India women’s leagues across 9 disciplines for the next 4 years to recognize new talents.
The funds will include cash prizes comprising to a total of Rs 4.23 crore, which will be directly released to the respective national sports federations (NSFs) for the purpose of organizing the leagues.
These disciplines involve hockey, archery, weightlifting, cycling, boxing, swimming, wrestling, volleyball and judo. More than 23,000 female athletes from across the country are all set for tournament.
Piyush Kumar Dubey, coach of the men’s hockey team which triumphed the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics, stated that the move will give further thrust to women’s sports in India.
“These leagues will have a tremendous impact in three ways. Firstly, it will set up a competitive environment for the young girls participating and give them a platform to battle pressure and their fear.”
“Secondly, the coaches will get to assess their students on how they perform in competitive tournaments, away from practice,” stated Dubey.
“Thirdly, these leagues will help in the long-term development of the layers and build on the success our women’s team achieved in Tokyo last year,” he further said.
