Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, on Tuesday, unveiled his future plans for India at the Olympics. First, he wants to help the country finish in a respectable position at the 2024 Paris Olympics with a handful of medals and a top-ten finish at Los Angeles 2028. Rijiju, who was in Chennai for the inauguration of a hockey stadium, announced that the Sports Ministry will provide financial aid to each and every Indian athlete competing at the international level.
“It is not possible to create champions overnight. We will go to the Tokyo Olympics with available talent. The next big target is Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028. Recently, I had a meeting with the IOC and the heads of the sports federations. We have set a target that the medal count should be in double digits at Paris 2024 and by 2028, India must be among top ten medal winners at the Olympics,” Rijiju said.
“Every discipline in sports is equal and so is every sportsperson. The sports ministry is not here to impose our measures on the federations, but we are here to provide the facilities and infrastructure. We have taken measures to transfer the prize money to the athletes as soon as they return to the country from the tournament. We are ready to provide financial assistance to any athlete who has represented India,” he confirmed.
