The Olympic Games will begin in Paris from July 26. This time the Olympics are returning after three years and these three years have been full of expectations for Indian athletes and fans. In the Olympics held in Tokyo in 2021, Indian players gave their best performance and the country got the highest number of medals ever, 7. There is hope and desire to increase this number in Paris and this expectation has increased the most in the discipline in which India has lagged far behind at the global level - athletics. Neeraj Chopra's golden success in Tokyo has inspired sports managers in India to invest in this, which is why about Rs 100 crore has been spent on athletics in the last 3 years.

About 11 days before the games to be held in Paris, the capital of France, a report has revealed that after the Tokyo Olympics and before the start of the Paris Olympics, about Rs 470 crore was spent by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) for preparations in 16 different sports in the last three years. The maximum amount of money was given for athletics, which was like a dream till three years ago.

Athletics gets the most money

PTI's report has revealed that SAI's Mission 'Olympic Cell' has spent the most amount of Rs 96.08 crore on athletics in the last 3 years. This expenditure has been made on things like training of players in India and abroad, appointment of coaches and providing equipment. This time India's representation in athletics is also the highest compared to any previous Olympics. A total of 28 players will participate in different events of athletics under the leadership of Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Neeraj Chopra.

Now whether this figure is considered the result of the expenditure of the last 3 years or the better performance in athletics is considered the reason for spending such a huge amount, it is historic in itself. The impact of Neeraj Chopra, who won the first medal in athletics in Tokyo, that too a straight gold medal, is also being considered. Out of this 96 crore, the government spent 5.72 crore rupees on Neeraj Chopra alone.

Badminton and hockey also got big help

Not just athletics, other medal winning sports also got good support from the government. Badminton was second in this list, which got Rs 72.02 crore, while boxing was third with Rs 60.93 crore and shooting was fourth (Rs 60.42 crore). In the last Olympics, Rs 41.29 crore was spent on the hockey team which won the bronze medal after 41 years. Apart from these, athletes of sports like table tennis, judo, golf, sailing, tennis, swimming also got help worth crores from the government.