Opinion The Third Edit: How to fund the Olympic medal quest

In view of India’s sub-par performance at the Paris Olympics, the government and the experts on its committees have zeroed in on one problem area: Funding. Spending tens of crores on athletes under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) — giving each of them the liberty to design their training programmes — gave the administrators the hope that India would return with a double-digit medal haul. Instead, they managed only six — and no gold medal. Now, the government is considering a restructuring of TOPS in a way that only the genuine medal hopefuls get these benefits.

To be sure, there is no direct correlation between money spent and medals won. But some dots can be joined. India spends more than many countries for an Olympic medal. The Daily Mail reported that the average cost of each medal Britain won in Paris was £3,782,118 (about Rs 41.2 crore). In comparison, India spent nearly Rs 78.3 crore per medal on an average. So even as India’s athletes have more funds at their disposal than ever before, it is crucial that every bit is spent wisely.

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As much as the elite-level athletes, it is important to provide support to those at the lowest levels of the pyramid. The promising juniors must also get a slice of the pie. So must the in-betweeners — the athletes who might not be Olympic hopefuls but continue to fly high the country’s flag at other tournaments. As sporting infrastructure mushrooms across the country, India will need more athletes to perform in those arenas and make a bid for medals. That can’t happen without a focused funding approach. With the private sector yet to fully warm up to the idea of supporting Olympic athletes, the onus remains on the government.