Government happy at victories for shuttler Srikanth, hockey team
New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) Sports Minister Vijay Goel on Monday expressed happiness at the fact that the investments done in the men’s hockey team and shuttler Kidambi Srikanth are paying dividends — as shown by their recent triumphs.
India’s hockey team on Sunday registered its biggest win against Pakistan, hammering the neighbours 7-1 to enter the quarter-finals of the Hockey World League (HWL) SemiFinal in London, while shuttler Srikanth clinched the men’s singles Indonesian open Superseries Premier title defeating Japanese Sakai Kazumasa 21-11, 21-19 in just 37 minutes in Jakarta.
“For the participation of Indian team in the Hockey World League, preparation camps were held at Sports Authority of India (SAI) Southern Centre, Bengaluru, and the entire cost was borne by the Sports Ministry. An amount of Rs 1.1 crore was also approved by the Ministry for the squad consisting of 18 players and seven support staff members,” Goel told reporters here.
He also mentioned that Rs 3.60 crore have been spent on the foreign exposure of the Indian badminton players and the ministry is committed to the development of every game.
“We are committed towards development of every game and our Sports Ministry along with SAI will provide complete support to all players and support staff,” he added.