Sports minister Vijay Goel says government to have say in hiring foreign coaches for India

New Delhi: The government will have a say in selecting foreign coaches for various disciplines in consultation with the national federations, which will be made more accountable, according to sports minister Vijay Goel. The minister held a four-hour long brainstorming session - Chintan Baithak - with sports personalities such as shooter Gagan Narang, former hockey players Viren Rasquinha and Jagbir Singh and former Director Generals of SAI. [caption id=“attachment_3099772” align=“alignleft” width=“381”] File photo of Vijay Goel. PTI[/caption] Goel said the meeting was called keeping in mind preparations for 2020 Olympics. “The preparations should begin now. That’s why we called this meeting. We got several suggestions. A report will now be created including sports infrastructure available in the country,” Goel said. “The Indian coaches will now be paid from Rs 50,000 to 2 lakhs. The federations used to select foreign coaches but we will advertise the posts to make the selection, wherever it is required,” Goel said. The minister, flanked by sports secretary Rajiv Yadav, clarified that federations will be consulted before making a final decision. Goel also said that National Sports Federations (NSFs) will be made more accountable and the tournaments organised by them will be monitored. “We will also support the events which the NSFs will conduct. There will be accountability. We have shot letters to NSFs to tell us about their selection process and events organized by them. “It was also suggested that we need more sports science centres. They will be set up at 4-5 Universities. And if a player or an Association or an NGO start an academy, the government will support that venture. They can use our infrastructure.” Goel said efforts will be made to have star players compete at the national championships so that the next generations get exposure to good competition. The minister said they have asked finance minister Arun Jaitely to double the sports budget. The entire Indian women’s hockey team, led by captain Deepika and Coach Neil Hawgood was felicitated by the Sports ministry for winning the Asian Champions Trophy for the first time after defeating China 2-1 in a thrilling encounter.