Recently, several athletes brought laurels to the State after winning medals at the Special Olympics in Berlin, Germany. In a heartwarming move, the Pramod Sawant government announced that the gold medallists would be rewarded with Rs 5 lakh, silver medallists with Rs 3 lakh and Rs 1 lakh for bronze. The winners will also be entitled to government jobs. But here’s the annoying bit. The athletes receive very little support en route to success. Often it is the parents that strongly back their children by bearing huge expenses and even risking their livelihoods to ensure that the child will be able to compete at a high level. Sure, the government provides infrastructure (sometimes questionable), but what about support for budding athletes? It's time we flip the script and give them a hand before they reach the finish line!
