Chorus rises as more athletes criticise Haryana govt for reducing cash award

Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and Olympic medal-winning wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt also spoke up against the Haryana government's policy to reduce the cash award given to athletes.

Wrestlers Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat continued to criticise the Haryana government on Thursday for its policy reducing cash prizes for athletes winning at multiple international events, and got backing from other athletes like Neeraj Chopra and Yogeshwar Dutt.

Punia, who has been among the athletes leading the charge against the Haryana government’s policy on cash awards, tweeted on Thursday saying that while the Indian government was coming up with schemes to encourage participation in sports, the state government has come up with schemes to bring sportsmen to their knees. In one tweet, Punia said that the government shouldn’t try to fool the athletes and in a third tweet said that the policy seemed like the government was upset about the athletes doing well.