Geeta Phogat, Sushil Kumar hit back at Haryana government for asking athletes to deposit 33% of total earnings

Geeta Phogat hit back at Haryana government’s latest notification in which the state’s Sports and Youth Welfare Department has asked the sportspersons to deposit one-third of their sports and endorsement earnings to the government. The money will be used by the state to invest more in development on sports, read the Haryana government notice dated 30 April. [caption id=“attachment_387727” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Geeta Phogat. Reuters[/caption] The notification reads, “One-third of the income earned by the sportsperson from professional sports or commercial endorsements will be deposited with the Haryana State Sports Council. The money shall be used for the developments of sports in the state.” Commonwealth Games 2010 gold medalist Geeta Phogat expressed strong disagreement with the notification as she felt the athletes won’t be left with much in their hands if they handover one-third of their total earnings to the government. Geeta was quoted as saying on Times Now, “I don’t know whether the rule is now implemented or they are still thinking of implementing it. I understand that the rule can still be implemented on the cricketers because there is so much money in that sport. But in other sports like boxing, kabaddi, wrestling, there is not enough money nor are there any endorsements. If the athletes give one-third to the government of whatever they earn then what will remain with the athletes in that case? One-third share is way too much.” “I have not yet seen the notification, I am only coming to know of it through media reports. I can only say that the athletes who compete in Olympic sports are already from very poor families,” said double-Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar. “The government should make policies which encourage athletes. I haven’t heard of such a policy anywhere else in the world. The athlete should be competing with a free mind, not with stress like this,” he added “God save us from such officials, who are taking senseless decisions like this. Their contribution to development of sports in Haryana has been zero but I am sure, they will play a big role in the decline of sports in the state,” wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt tweeted. “Now, athletes will move to other states and these officials will be responsible for this,” he added. Principal Secretary (Sports and Youth Department), Ashok Khemka, clarifying government’s stand on the issue said that the notification applies only for the athletes who are government employees. He said, “This is not for any sportsperson, this notification is for government employees, those government officers who have been appointed under sports quota.”     -With inputs from PTI