That Abhinav Bindra struck gold at the Beijing Olympics is as pale news as Mayawati’s desire to become the first Dalit Prime minister of India. But what is really interesting is the race amongst our netas to honour the sharp shooter.

Abhinav Bindra won’t have never imagine that BCCI will announce a cash award for INR 1 crore, well after all it’s the richest cricket board in the world and what better to do with the extra cash than to honour Mr Bindra.

Prize announcements followed from all corners of India, various state governments didn’t want to be left behind when it comes to showering moolah on Abhinav Bindra, Chhatisgarh Government announced a cash award of INR 1 lakh, Punjab Government announced a cash award of INR 1 crore, Karntaka and Maharashtra governments also followed suit awarding cash award of INR 10 lakhs; the Haryana Government chipped in with cash prize of INR 25 lakh.

Abhinav has shown what Indians are capable of achieving given the right infrastructure, support and mentoring; one wonders why any of these governments couldn’t think of using this opportunity to announce new measures/policies that would affect sports in India at the grass root level or inspire more individuals to take up sports seriously. India is gung-ho about the achievements of its boxers, one may ask why the Haryana government didn’t think of donating that INR 25 lakh towards boosting the popularity of boxing within the state, given the fact that all the 3 boxers (Akhil Kumar, Jitendar Kumar & Vijender Kumar) hail from this state. Officials from Haryana, Abhinav Bindra doesn’t need your cash, thankfully, he has that in abundance, I’m sure he would have been happier if you had utilized that money more efficiently.

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