Insurance cover for India’s CWG squad

NEW DELHI: The Indian contingent of 227 members for the Commonwealth Games (CWG), starting April 4 at Gold Coast in Australia, will get an insurance cover of ~50 lakh each.

“We have a sponsor to support our elite athletes. With the private sector coming forward to support the CWG team, it’s a good thing for Indian sport,” said Narinder Batra, president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

On Monday, the IOA announced a long-term partnership with the Edelweiss group for the 2018 season. “The company will also support the Indian team for the Asian Games in (Jakarta) Indonesia,” said Batra.

The company had provided an insurance cover of ~1 crore to each member of the Rio-bound Olympic Games contingent in 2016, and has agreed to sponsor the national team for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games as well. “Besides major international meets, athletes competing at this year’s National Games will also be insured,” said the IOA chief.

The IOA also announced a sponsorship deal for the ceremonial dress and team kit for the CWG contingent. After unveiling the team kit, sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore exhorted national sports federations (NSFs) to be more transparent in their functioning.

“All the stakeholders, including the government and IOA, should deliberate to include practical good points of the National Sports Code to improve functioning of the federations,” he said.

Batra said, “The NSFs have meagre financial resources and can’t function without the support from the government.”

THE COMPANY HAD PROVIDED COVER OF ~1 CRORE AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES CONTINGENT IN 2016. IT HAS AGREED TO SPONSOR THE NATIONAL TEAM FOR THE 2020 TOKYO OLYMPIC GAMES

PRE-GAMES TRAINING

Batra said teams participating in the CWG will go for pre-Games training to Australia.

“At the moment, the lawn bowls team is training in Australia. We also plan to send the weightlifting, hockey and track and field teams too,” he said.

In 2014, a 215-member contingent participated in 14 disciplines at the Glasgow CWG, winning 64 medals, including 15 gold.

Ace pistol shooter Jitu Rai, who was present on the occasion, said, “The top shooters will come up with a show at Gold Coast.”