NEW DELHI: India’s winter Olympians have finally been given state funds to buy vital equipment needed to compete, less than two weeks before the opening ceremony in Sochi.
Indian sporting authorities were considering withdrawing alpine skier Himanshu Thakur and cross-country skier Nadeem Iqbal from the Games because funds for kit and equipment had not been released.
But the government yesterday announced `1.05m ($16,700) for the pair, who are both competing in their first Olympics.
The funds are meant “for purchase of sports equipment, ski, ski boots and other essential items for the participants of Winter Olympics”, the sports ministry said in a statement.
India’s third athlete Shiva Keshavan, who will be competing in his fifth Olympics, is already funded by the government and has raised money through his sponsors.
The cash-strapped Winter Games Federation of India had been on the verge of pulling the skiers out of the Games starting in Russia’s Sochi on February 7 because of the lack of funds.
All three will compete in Sochi under the Olympic flag instead of the national flag, since the Indian Olympic Association is serving a ban for electing corruption-tainted officials to its national committee in late 2012.
Athletes often face funding problems in India, where cricket is by far the most popular sport. India has never won a medal at the Winter Olympics.AFP
Rio Olympics infrastructure costs $2.3bn
RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil’s government yesterday issued its first estimate of public spending on projects related to Rio de Janeiro’s 2016 Olympic Games, though the 5.6bn reals ($2.3bn) price tag is set to swell as more projects receive approval.
The initial estimate from Brazil’s Public Olympic Authority (APO) includes spending by federal, state and municipal governments for 24 approved projects carried out through both public-private partnerships and by the government alone.
The number does not include spending on 28 planned projects that still require approval.
The total estimate, which is due to be revised in March, also excludes projects such as airports and pollution control, which are not dedicated strictly to holding the Olympics.
Last week, officials said the operating budget for the Olympics and Paralympic Games in 2016 had jumped 27 percent from prior estimates to 7bn reals, citing factors such as inflation and costs for new technology.
The operating budget was originally set to include up to 1.4 billion reals in public funds, but officials later reduced that figure to zero in response to public outcry over the high cost of stadiums and other projects required by the Olympics and 2014 World Cup, which kicks off in June.
APO officials contradicted that pledge yesterday, saying Brazil’s government could indeed take on some of those costs if necessary.
Reuters
