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Having earned a Tokyo Olympics berth, Chirag Shetty, one of India's top doubles shuttlers, will receive Rs 50 lakh from the Maharashtra government under its ‘Mission Olympics’ campaign.
Mumbai-based Chirag Shetty along with Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, from Andhra Pradesh, make up the World No. 10 men’s doubles pairing. They made the cut for the Games on the basis of their ‘Race to Tokyo’ rankings.
So far, seven Maharashtra athletes have booked their spots in the mega sporting event, including two Paralympians. Chirag Shetty is the only badminton player from the state to compete in the Summer Olympics.
Ace shooters Rahi Sarnobat and Tejaswini Sawant were among five Maharashtra sportspersons who were presented with Rs 50 lakh each in December 2020 for their Olympics preparations. In addition to Sarnobat and Sawant, steeplechaser Avinash Sable and archer Pravin Jadhav were also given financial assistance to prepare for the event.
International para-shooter Swaroop Unalkar, who is preparing for the Paralympics, was also handed over a cheque by Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray at a function held in Mumbai.
Chirag Shetty’s application sent for final approval
The applications of Chirag Shetty and para-swimmer Suyash Jadhav have been forwarded to the state finance department, according to Sudhir More, Deputy Director of Sports and Youth Affairs, Maharashtra government.
"[The applications] will be approved soon and within a couple of weeks the amount of Rs 50 lakh each will be deposited in their accounts."
More said the Maharashtra government is committed to the players’ growth and will give the same amount to each state player who qualifies for the Tokyo Olympics.
"The qualification process is still on and if more players from Maharashtra qualify in the next few weeks we will include them all in our ‘Mission Olympics’ scheme.”
Chirag-Satwik duo are medal contenders
Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj will be competing in their maiden Olympics and are considered medal contenders.
Shetty competed at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, winning gold in the mixed-team event and a silver in men’s doubles alongside Satwiksairaj.
Chirag, 23, and Satwiksairaj, 20, won the prestigious Arjuna Award last year for their achievements at the world level. The reached their career-best world ranking of No. 7 in 2019.
Chirag Shetty, who has trained at the Goregaon Sports Club in Mumbai under Uday Pawar from his early days in the sport, will leave for Tokyo next month. He now trains at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad with the Indian squad under doubles specialist coach Mathias Boe of Denmark.
