Odisha govt declares incentive for Olympic bound Dutee Chand and other state players

Bhubaneswar: In a bid to boost morale of the Rio Olympic bound sports persons from the state, Odisha Government on Tuesday announced Rs 60 lakh special incentive for the six participants. [caption id=“attachment_2864760” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Olympic bound Dutee Chand. AFP[/caption] The sports women who would get the special incentive were: Srabani Nanda, Dutee Chand (both sprinters), Deep Grace Ekka, Namita Toppo, Lilima Minz and Sunita Lakra. Each of the players would get Rs 10 lakh for the preparation for the Olympics which begins from 5 August. “I hope that the six sportswomen will come out with flying colours and bring glory for their state as well as for the country,” Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said after announcing the special incentives. The state run Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) will pay the special incentive to these six sportsmen, the chief minister said and directed the sports department to hike the amount of Rs 50,000 and Rs 1 lakh cash prize for Olympic selected sports persons under group event and individual game respectively to Rs 5 lakh. While Dutee Chand has qualified to participate in the 100-metre run, Srabani Nanda to participate in 200-metre run event. Both of them have also qualified for the 4X100-metre relay race. This apart, the four hockey players of the state have found places in the Indian women’s hockey team for the mega event.