STILL in the mood of celebration of the best-ever medals haul in Olympics, India is opening up its purse strings to shower awards on the athletes who brought home seven medals from Tokyo. As the champions continue to bask in the windfall of cash, rewards, promotions and lavish praise, the Indian model of supporting sportspersons, too, is becoming a talking point for India’s neighbours, specially Pakistan.

 

At Tokyo, Pakistani athletes were hardly visible except Arshad Nadeem, who made a good attempt in the javelin throw finals which was eventually trumped by our Golden Boy Neeraj Chopra. The Indian’s Army Man’s feat has woken up sports administrators and military generals in Pakistan who have suddenly realised that Jawans can bring glory to the nation through sports too! The realisation is not limited upto the fact that sports remains a neglected area in Pakistan despite a champion sportsperson like Imran Khan holding a high office. The neighbour is also coming to terms with the fact that overall development of a nation is done through proper investment in a sporting culture. This is where the Indian model of TOP Scheme has proved a gamechanger.