New Delhi: Paris Olympics 2024 bronze medallist Swapnil Kusale’s father has demanded more prize money for his son from the Maharashtra government while criticising it for rewarding his son with Rs 2 crore. Shooter Kusale won a bronze medal for India in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions at the Paris showpiece event, becoming the first Indian to win an Olympic medal in the event.
The Maharastra government announced a cash prize of Rs 2 crore for the shooter after his bronze medal feat. However, Kusale’s father Suresh Kusale expressed his disappointment over the prize money, citing the example of Haryana. Suresh Kusale said his son should get Rs 5 crore as prize money from the government and a flat near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Sports Complex in Balewadi, Pune to train.
Speaking to reporters, Suresh Kusale said Haryana is a smaller state compared to Maharashtra but honours its athletes in a much better manner. He also highlighted that his son is the only second Olympic medallist from the state after former wrestler KD Jadhav, who won a bronze medal in wrestling at the 1952 Olympics.
“The Haryana government gives Rs 5 crore to its each (Olympics medal winning) player. As per a new policy announced by the Maharashtra government, an Olympic bronze medal winner will get Rs 2 crore. Why does the state form such criteria when Swapnil was only the second individual Olympic medal winner from Maharashtra in 72 years,” Suresh Kusale told reporters, as quoted by PTI.
“Five individuals won medals in the Paris Olympics for India of which four were from Haryana and one, Swapnil Kusale, from Maharashtra. Haryana is a much smaller state compared to Maharashtra, but it gives higher prize money to its medal-winning athletes,” he added.
How much did Haryana govt reward Olympic medallists?
The Haryana government announced a cash prize of Rs 6 crore for gold medal winners, Rs 4 crore for silver medallists and Rs 2.5 crore for bronze medallists from the Paris Olympics 2024. Neeraj Chopra, Manu Bhaker, Sarabjot Singh and Aman Sherawat – India’s other individual medallists from the Paris Olympics 2024 all hail from Haryana.
While Manu was awarded Rs 5 crore by the Haryana government, Neeraj got a cash reward of Rs 4 crore. Sarabjot and Aman received Rs 2.5 crore each from the government. The Haryana government also announced a cash reward of Rs 4 crore for wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who missed out on a medal after being disqualified due to being slightly overweight ahead of her final bout at the Paris Games.
Swapnil Kusale’s father alleges foul play
Shooter Kusale’s father Suresh Kusale alleged foul play as he criticised the Maharashtra government’s policy of awarding Olympic bronze medallist Rs 2 crore as a cash prize. Suresh Kusale questioned if the prize money would have been the same if Swapnil was the son of an MLA or a minister. He also stated that he would have asked his son to pursue a career in some other sport if he had been aware of the low cash prize in shooting.
“Had I known such an outcome, I would have persuaded him to explore a career in some other sports. Is the amount kept low because Swapnil is from a humble background? Would the reward amount have remained the same if he had been the son of an MLA or a minister?,” said Suresh Kusale.
“Swapnil should get Rs 5 crore as an award, a flat near Balewadi Sports Stadium so that he could easily commute for practice. Swapnil’s name should be given to the 50-meter-three-position rifle shooting arena,” he added, clarifying his demands from the Maharashtra government.
Kusale, who hails from a humble background, was provided with a financial assistance of over Rs 17.50 lakh by the government under the TOPS scheme. The government also spent over Rs 1.42 crore in the annual calendar for his training and competitions.
Paris Olympics medallist Swapnil Kusale’s father criticised the Maharashtra government for rewarding his son with a cash prize of Rs 2 crore citing Haryana’s example. Kusale’s father demanded a cash prize of Rs 5 crore and a flat in Pune for the bronze medallist shooter. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
