Badminton sensation P V Sindhu has made nation proud by winning the silver medal at Olympics. So, there is nothing wrong in felicitating her and giving her some cash incentive to encourage her talent.
But in the name of encouraging her, the governments and organisations across the country are vying with one another to gain political mileage. This is not to undermine Sindhu’s talent, but our selfishgovernments have made her richer by at least Rs 25 crore, though she did not ask for the same.
According to the information available so far, here is the list of the awards and rewards given to Sindhu by various governments:
1. AP government: Rs 3 crore
2. Telangana government: Rs 5 crore
3. Delhi government: Rs 2 crore
4. Madhya Pradesh government: Rs 50 lakhs
5. All India Football Federation; Rs 5 lakh
6. Bharat Petroleum: Rs 75 lakh
7. Salman Khan: Rs 25 lakh
8. Badminton Association of India: Rs 50 lakh
9. Mukkattu Sebastian, An NRI businessman: Rs 5 million
10. Olympic Association of India: Rs 30 lakh
11. Haryana government: Rs 50 lakh
12. Railway Ministry: Rs 50 lakh
13. About 2000 square yards of land in Amaravati and Hyderabad
14. Group-I category posts in both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments
15. A BMW Beemer worth Rs 2 crore
16. Mahindra to gift her their top in the line SUV
17. Three to four builders in AP announced flats as a gift to Sindhu and her parents
18. One of the country's top Jewellery chain to sign Sindhu as their Brand Ambassador
Writing this does not mean Sindhu does not deserve all these gifts. But at the same time, the governments which are showering gifts on her should also focus on encouraging rural sports so as to bring out more and more Sindhus.
“The government has to provide adequate funds to encourage the sports persons living in rural areas. The governments have to move forward keeping next Olympics in view,” former Congress MP V Hanumantha Rao said.
