[ABHI_1512]

Originally Posted by how_you_doing

There is nothing wrong with these "cheap" tactics. In fact, I think more and more corporates should do such things. Gift them all what they can right now. Even if some local dealer wants to give Honda Activa to an athlete in return for him tweeting/Instagramming/Facebooking the dealer's name, let them do it.

For Athletes, their golden years are only from 18-35 where they can earn well unlike corporate guys who actually start making well after 35. Most of us won't even remember the name of an Indian athlete who came 4th in the 2016 Olympics in Gymnastics.

Neeraj Chopra has already earned 10 Crore in the last 6 hours (Haryana Government offered 6 Crore, BCCI 1 Crore, CSK 1.25 Crore, and many more names), this is more than what many gold medal winners from other countries will make in their career. All these earnings and gifts need to be highlighted and covered by the media so Indian parents know that their kids can take sports as a career.

Indian athletes and their coaches need as much money as we can offer them. I don't think they are going to complain about who is joining the bandwagon, after all, it is their bandwagon!

Unfortunately, these gifts do nothing for their careers. It would have been more than helpful if some so called corporates came with a sponsorship plan for the athletes.

Nobody wants to invest in the athletes but all come to bask in the glory when they win medals. Mind you, winning an Olympic medal is no joke at all. The amount that of 6 crores is peanuts for an athlete of the caliber of Neeraj Chopra. Just to put the whole thing into a perspective, just 10 days of training abroad before the Olympics costed the exchequer around 35 lakhs.

Both Neeraj Chopra and Vineesh Phogat were allowed to be trained abroad because they were treated as medal hopefuls. Around 1.6 crores for Phogat and 1.8 crores for Chopra was the expenditure by the government for their training and that’s for only six months. Athletes need proper training with best equipments and coaches to be able to win medals. If the corporates want, they can sponsor the athletes but no, they will not. Instead, they will try to hog the limelight when these very athletes, with their hard work and determination win medals.

I am all for appreciation, they deserve all the accolades but what they mainly need is sponsors. Many athletes have faded away because of lack of funds and not getting the best training and equipments. We are rejoicing for hockey but when needed, it was the state government of Odisha which came to their rescue when no corporate was willing to sponsor them.

An Abhinav Bindra went to the extent of brain mapping abroad to get to know his strong points and focus on them to be able to win the Olympic gold. He was lucky since he never had the problem of money. Not everybody is that lucky and that is where sponsors come in. It would have been more beneficial to the Neeraj Chopra’s and Chanu’s of India had the corporates came forward to sponsor them and help them in preparing for the next Olympics rather then gifting them cars. Talents like Deepa Karmakar (see I remember her fourth place finish in 2016) and Vikas Gauda would have won much had they got the best training facilities.

Lastly, athletes deserve much more then what they get in India. Just gifting cash rewards and cars doesn’t help much unless someone is at the fag end of the career. For a young athlete like Neeraj Chopra, a sponsorship is valued much more than a car or even cash. But then, who cares as long as one can bask in someone else’s glory !!

Originally Posted by Sebring

Harsh words, buddy. Winners deserve every bit of appreciation they get, be it in accolades or in kind. If Mahindra had not given anything, even that would be talked and criticized. Besides, how much more TRP would an established name like Mahindra get from this? Will they sell a single extra XUV 700, based on this gift? Yes, if my corner shop dealership tries to tag along with a great name I'd call it a cheap stunt. Just my two bit

Winners deserve every accolade that comes their way but it seems cheap when someone else gets bragging rights just by gifting a car to an athlete who has put in the hard yards for years before making the podium. I remember, Deepa Karmakar was gifted a BMW by Sachin Tendulkar after Rio Olympics along with PV Sindhu. She returned the car and took cash instead of around 25 lacs since supposedly her hometown didn’t have the roads to drive or the service center of the said car company.

Deepa Karmakar was a unique talent and I still remember her Produnova drill which was very tough to achieve. Some gifts and cash rewards after, where is she now ? She failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics and that is sad. Who knows what would happened if she got a corporate sponsor after Rio and was encouraged to go for the medal in Tokyo ? Now feel free to think of my frustrations when I see these corporates basking in the glory of the medal winners. Some things don’t change ...

Just adding a link of an article from the past which was published after Rio Olympics, just to have a perspective of things. Every Olympian is a hero for me, to even qualify for the Olympics is a great feat in itself and to win a medal, is even greater. The 4X400 men’s relay team broke the Asian record this time but still failed to qualify for the finals. Such are the standards of the Olympics, phew !!

Give them all the awards and rewards but give them the sponsorships as well. That will help them immensely.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/olymp...8T8lN_amp.html

[dailydriver]

Amongst the plethora of awards, rewards and riches that are coming the champion's way, one particularly caught my attention.



The responses to the announcement couldn't have been more down to earth.



Source:Twitter

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Amongst the plethora of awards, rewards and riches that are coming the champion's way, one particularly caught my attention.

Joke of the day.

Why would Neeraj Chopra travel on a Karnataka RTC bus? I don't think he would even have to visit KA, even if so, KSRTC would be the least that he would have to travel in.

And moreover at time where the department is going through increased financial debts and crisis. I hope the transport dept employees who are already striking for a pay hike doesn't get enraged over this.

[how_you_doing]

I think you are mixing multiple separate things which are barely connected. I am sorry but there is so much wrong with your post that I don't know where to start and where to end

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

Unfortunately, these gifts do nothing for their careers. It would have been more than helpful if some so called corporates came with a sponsorship plan for the athletes.

You can't be serious

You are saying these Crores won't be helping their career? Even a 10 lakh rupee improves their quality of life and if they get 50 lakh, they can take their career full time or can be a coach later without worrying about what to do later in their life.

There is a reason why in the 90-00s, every national-level athlete was working full-time for the Postal service, Police, Indian railways, or the army because of pension, PF and job security etc.

I was an athlete in my school days and have played at the State level. None of my friends (who played at the state and national levels) took sports seriously after the 12th exam because there was no money.

I won't be surprised if in the next Olympics in 2024, our wrestlers and boxers fight for their lives as they know they are getting at least 5 crores in the next 24 hours. Hack of motivation I would say!

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

Nobody wants to invest in the athletes but all come to bask in the glory when they win medals.

Please do more reading on what our current elite athletes have to say. Please check what Abhinav Bindra, boxers, wrestlers, and hockey veterans have to say about how things were in 2008 and how they are in 2020.

Let me save your time and quote Bindra -

"Abhinav Bindra, India’s only Olympic gold medalist in an individual competition, said that the sports environment today is different from when he won the 10-meter air rifle competition in Beijing. When he competed in the shooting nationals as a youth, there were 200 entrants, he said. These days, the competition draws 20,000, plus another 20,000 who didn’t make the cut. Eight members of the Indian shooting team in Tokyo, he noted, have been world No. 1s or 2s in their categories."

Mind you, winning an Olympic medal is no joke at all.

I don't think anyone here or anywhere is saying otherwise.

For a young athlete like Neeraj Chopra, a sponsorship is valued much more than a car or even cash. But then, who cares as long as one can bask in someone else’s glory !!

I am sorry but I don't think you have any idea about current sponsorships for Top Indian athletes like Chopra/Mirabai/Indian wrestlers/shooters/P V Sindhu or how much value a car and cash carry for Indian athletes in general.

[Samurai]

I remember throwing a javelin in college, that happened because my college had a big playground. These days most youths (like my son) don't have access to a ground where they can practice track and field sports.

If these corporates really want to help our athletes, they should help improve the sports infra in every town/city and not shower gifts to winners who have already made it. The winners will get to make lots of money via endorsements in future, they don't need gifts.

[ABHI_1512]

Originally Posted by how_you_doing

I think you are mixing multiple separate things which are barely connected. I am sorry but there is so much wrong with your post that I don't know where to start and where to end

I was an athlete in my school days and have played at the State level. None of my friends (who played at the state and national levels) took sports seriously after the 12th exam because there was no money.

Unfortunately, you are quoting specific contents without taking the post in its entirety. It’s okay, it’s sad that you being an athlete didn’t get the essence of what I wrote. You don’t have to agree with what I wrote but please do go through the entire post before countering. You are free to diss my post but then reality is often dissed in this country these days !!

And by the way, do refer to my earlier posts in this thread while you are at it to know that I am all for athletes getting their dues but that’s not the case. Care to comment on why the Indian hockey team didn’t get any sponsores until the Odisha government came to the rescue ? If things have changed so much, why was the sports budget reduced in the Olympics year ?

Here is a reality check, right from the horses mouth. This, from a man who commands respect and who said what needed to be said just after his ward won the only track and field gold for India and the importance of sponsorship.

https://indianexpress.com/article/sp...ation-7360808/

Mods- Please merge the post with the previous one since the edit window is gone !!

[hothatchaway]

Abhi is right, beyond a certain amount, the money does little to boost athletic prospects, especially when the govt already has a very generous bonus system in place. I don't grudge our athletes getting what's coming our way one bit, especially when even mediocre cricketers can make millions these days. But some of these 'Johnny come lately' corporate largesse does smack of opportunism. You won't see the Tatas doing this for example, a group which has fueled the dreams of athletes in India for decades

Found a couple of interesting articles on the subject, British medalists for example, do not receive any bonuses at all, getting stipends instead to fund further training!

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/06/s...s-bonuses.html

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-c...98Q0RM20130927

[am1m]

Originally Posted by hothatchaway

But some of these 'Johnny come lately' corporate largesse does smack of opportunism.

Let's not give these opportunists any more publicity by discussing them guys. that's what they want when they tweet on any and every subject. They just want to attach their brand to everything so something will stick. Good or bad publicity, it's still publicity for them. Same tactics that Bollywood stars use, best is to ignore them completely.

Let's focus instead on the tremendous achievements of our athletes and their coaches at our best Games performance ever! Let's read about their journeys and their training methods, what worked and what didn't work.

Let's work on identifying them at a much earlier level and supporting them then. By attending more grass-roots events like zonal qualifications and voicing our support from then on.

[ABHI_1512]

Originally Posted by am1m

Let's work on identifying them at a much earlier level and supporting them then. By attending more grass-roots events like zonal qualifications and voicing our support from then on.

Absolutely spot on and this is why I love what JSW did for Indian sports. They have been running a sports foundation since 2012 and has been supporting top athletes including Neeraj Chopra. It is their support along with OGQ and TOP program that the athletes were able to compete valiantly at the Olympics but they still need more.

Not many people know that JSW runs India’s first privately funded high performance training center in Vijaynagar, Karnataka and trains athletes across five Olympic disciplines. It is them who should be celebrated now for being a pillar of support for the athletes but look who is basking in the glory now. 23 corporate donors are using their CSR funds to support this initiative which is ideally named Inspire Institute of Sports. In fact, JSW also supported Bengaluru FC for substantial years and they are one of the best managed clubs in India now.

They are scouting talents from the grass roots through merit based tests and ensuring that they get the best facilities for their training including sports science. I am hopeful that they will produce more Olympic medalists in future. It would be so good if more corporates come forward and ensure grass root development of Olympic sports. Meanwhile, we should celebrate the success of our players in the just concluded games with the hope that the next games gives us more medalists.

[vennarbank]

The other stars apart from medal winners are men's 4x400M relay team, Aditi, Women's hockey team, Mary Kom and wrestlers. Regarding archery, Deepika Kumari has higher heartbeat durin competiton, compared to her competitors [188 vs 132bpm] and that is affecting her performance. This should be treated differently. For the first time more than 120 Indian athletes qualified for Olympics, and that is good start.

[ABHI_1512]

2020 Olympics are done and dusted but some heartwarming stories continue to come out. Here is a story from Jamaican sprinter Hansle Parchment who won the gold in 110m hurdles and the circumstances leading up to it.

He caught the bus to a wrong place for the semi finals and was in danger of missing the race when he landed up in a rowing venue. A Good Samaritan handed him money to get back to the original venue and he ended up winning the gold. He then tracked the lady down while filming the whole process and finally thanked her for the effort she took. He gifted her a Jamaican shirt and also returned the money. These stories makes us realise that kindness and goodness still runs the world. The Jamaican Tourism Minister has offered a free trip to the island for her.

Link :
https://news.sky.com/story/tokyo-oly...dream-12379171

[V.Narayan]

India usually performs reasonably well in the Para Olympics which usually follow immediately soon after the main show. Lets cheer our para olympic sports people as that go throw the paces. Sadly our TRP hungry media rarely cover them. In 2016 at Rio only one Indian journalist stayed back to cover the para games.

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

India usually performs reasonably well in the Para Olympics which usually follow immediately soon after the main show. Lets cheer our para olympic sports people as that go throw the paces. Sadly our TRP hungry media rarely cover them. In 2016 at Rio only one Indian journalist stayed back to cover the para games.

Of particular interest would be the performance of two time Paralympic gold medallist and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awardee Devendra Jhajharia.

He has bagged the first place in Javelin throw in 2004 and 2016 under the F46 classification (Upper limb/s affected by limb deficiency, impaired muscle power or impaired passive range of movement).

PS: The event wasn't held under this category in 2008 & 2012.

[deathwalkr]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

2020 Olympics are done and dusted but some heartwarming stories continue to come out. Here is a story from Jamaican sprinter Hansle Parchment who won the gold in 110m hurdles and the circumstances leading up to it.

Extremely nice gestures all around And let's not forget this:

https://indianexpress.com/article/tr...llage-7442996/

[400notout]

Now Tata joins the bandwagon An Altroz for the efforts!

https://www.livemint.com/auto-news/t...772385587.html

Tata Motors has announced that the company will be felicitating Indian athletes who narrowly missed the bronze medal in the recently held Tokyo Olympics