JOIN USAFI chief’s tweet on expsenses on Neeraj Chopra's training draws flak
Did you know that Rs 7 crore was spent on Neeraj Chopra's training for the Olympics?
This includes 450 days of foreign training, appointing a foreign coach, 1167 days at national coaching camp in NIS, Patiala and 177 javelins including a javelin throw machine for Rs 74.28 lakh.
Does this information trigger you? Because it did trigger Twitterati. Their reason: Such information needn't be disclosed especially if the Sports authorities are not disclosing how much was spent on those who did not manage to secure the medal.
But where is this coming from? A tweet by the President of Athletics Federation of India, which claimed that Rs 7 crore was spent on Chopra: "Today we have achieved so much purely because of a successful partnership of @afiindia with @Media_SAI," AFI PPresident Adille Sumariwalla tweeted.
Today we have achieved so much purely because of a successful partnership of @afiindia with @Media_SAI. Thank you for the support. pic.twitter.com/yQIXkJ9Ntv
— Adille Sumariwalla OLY (@Adille1) August 13, 2021
In response to this, one user said: “These things are not meant to be disclosed on public platform …. Government has done its Job and nothing else … That’s it" to which Sumariwalla responded saying, "It’s public money, tax payers money. It is on Govt Website... Why should we hide ?"
It’s public money, tax payers money. It is on Govt Website. In terms of transparency all countries in the world make this public. Why should we hide ? We are proudly supporting our champions and will support them even further.
— Adille Sumariwalla OLY (@Adille1) August 14, 2021
Another user wrote asking for an explanation to Vinesh Phogat saying that she was being treated like a dead thing. While the federation hailed winners, it has not said anything on Phogat's statement about her loss at Olympics.
Meanwhile, a Dronacharya awardee coach told The Indian Express, “This is not good. Why is he not disclosing the expenses of non-medallists and other participants?”
One user said "Man that was not to be disclosed! Now everyone in the world would see what happens in here. Maximum a crore or may be even less than that would have been spent on Neeraj by the government, that too after he set the junior record and won gold in Commonwealth"
"The support is appreciated but the credit should go to the athlete.," said another user.