Haryana authorities have issued a contentious requesting the country athletes to deposit one-third of earnings from their various areas and exemptions into the Haryana State Sports Council. The amount that is stated will be utilized for the growth of sports in the country.
The Sports and Youth Department of Haryana had issued the notification of the statement on 30 March 2018. It read, “One-third of the income earned by the sportsperson from professional sports or commercial endorsements will be deposited with the Haryana State Sports Council. The money will be used for the development of sport in the State.” Ashok Khemka, the Principal Secretary to Government of Haryana (Sports and Youth Affairs Department), had issued and signed the circular.
It was also stated that athletes performing in any department of the government of Haryana would be given leaves during their play but would not be paid. It further added that if “the sportsperson is treated on duty with the prior approval of the competent authority while taking part in professional sports or commercial endorsements, the full income earned by the sportsperson on this account will be deposited with the Haryana State Sports Council.”
Dissatisfaction of the Athletes
The double Gold medalist, Sushil Kumar wrote, “I have not yet seen the notification, I am only coming to know of it through media reports. I can only say that the athletes who compete in Olympic sports are already from weak families.” He also added, “The government should make policies which encourage athletes. I haven’t heard of such a policy anywhere else in the world. The athlete should be competing with a free mind, not with stress like this.”
Yogeshwar Dutt had expressed his unhappiness with this movement of the government He is the Olympic bronze medalist. He took to Twitter to express his dissatisfaction, “God saves us (from the official). Since the time such officials have joined the sports department, they have been issuing baseless, Tughlaqi farmaan (diktat). Their contribution towards the growth of sports in Haryana is zero, but I claim they are 100 percent succeeding in its decline. The athletes will move to other states, and you will be the one to be blamed.”
He further added, “They are unaware of the fact that when players take part in professional leagues, they have to stay in different camps. How many approvals of leaves will they need and from how many places? When successful sports stars refuse to acknowledge Sahab (official), they come up with different ways to make their life difficult.”
Athletes on Income Statement
Geeta Phogat, the Olympic wrestler, also expressed her unhappiness with such a movement of the government. She clearly stated that the rule was liable enough for the cricketers as they earned considerably more than the other athletes. In the interview with Times Now she said, “It is understandable if this new rule is applied to cricketers since they earn a lot from the sport as well as through endorsements. However, for athletes from sports such as wrestling, kabaddi, boxing this is extremely disappointing.”
According to Haryana’s sports coverage, a CWG gold medalist in the country is to find Rs 1.5 crore, a silver medalist Rs 75 lakh plus a bronze medalist Rs 50 lakh. However, the state government recently said that in the event of athletes that represent institutions like the Army or even Railways and therefore are given money prizes by these, they’d subtract the sum provided by the institution in their stated amount.