Govt aims to ensure dignified life for retired athletes: Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya

New Delhi [India], July 19 (ANI): Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said that the government aims to ensure that players can continue to live with dignity and respect even after retirement.
The remarks by Mandaviya came while he was addressing the All India Football Federation (AIFF) Award Night 2024 in New Delhi.
Madaviya also spoke about the Khelo India Rising Talent Identification (KIRTI) Programme and said, "Under Khelo India, KIRTI Project is going on under which talent identification is done. This camp will continue for one week and talent will be identified. The target is to identify one lakh talent in the first 100 days of the Modi 3.0 government."
He further said, "I feel sad that many times, National Level players struggle to make ends meet. I want to make sure that an individual connected with sports even after retirement spends the rest of his life with respect."
The Union Minister also praised PM Narendra Modi for cheering up the players and promoting sports. "In the last 10 years, PM Narendra Modi has started to promote sports. He has met the players and cheered them up. Whether the team wins or loses, that doesn't matter. Victory and defeat continue in games. When India was not able to win the Cricket World Cup, you must have seen how PM Modi motivated the players. The result was that we won seven medals in the Olympics and there is a possibility of getting more medals in the coming time."
Mandaviya also talked about the PM's vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047 and said, "In sports also, we have been given a target that by 2047, we have to be in the category of 1 to 5."
Mandaviya further said, "The government has brought schemes in the sports sector--Khelo India, by identifying talent, the person gets the best sports infrastructure, and the best coaches. I also believe that there is a need to encourage the coach as much as you encourage the player." (ANI)