The Indian government has reportedly spent Rs. 16.10 crore on various aspects of hockey, including exposure to foreign games, coaches and travel, in the period April - November, 2011, according to Ajay Maken, the Youth Affairs and Sport State Minister. He also added that a part of the amount had been sent as a part of the country's preparations for the forthcoming 2012 London Olympic Games.
"Hockey is one of the disciplines identified for the 2012 London Olympic Games. As such hockey is a high priority sport of the Government," said the minister in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. He also added that training facilities, of an international standard, and build-up competitions were being provided as part of the training for the Indian hockey team.
"(The) Government not only provides all the necessary facilities including training, foreign exposures for training and competition, foreign and Indian coaches and other support personnel, etc. but also assesses the performance of the Indian Hockey players at periodic intervals," explained Maken.
The Minister also added that the men's national team had won Gold at the 2011 Asian Championships, beating arch-rivals Pakistan, in the finals. As per the provisions of government schemes, each player was awarded a sum of Rs. 150,000.
