Five Maha athletes get aid for Tokyo Olympics preparations

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray distributed the funds to Sarnobat and Sawant in a function at his official residence Varsha in south Mumbai on Monday.A statement from the chief ministers office CMO said steeplechaser Avinash Sable and archer Pravin Jadhav were also given Rs 50 lakh aid as part of the states Mission Olympics scheme to prepare for the mega event.

Ace shooters Rahi Sarnobat and Tejaswini Sawant were among the five sportspersons from Maharashtra who were given aid of Rs 50 lakh each to help them prepare for the Tokyo Olympics, which got rescheduled to 2021 from 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray distributed the funds to Sarnobat and Sawant in a function at his official residence 'Varsha' in south Mumbai on Monday.

A statement from the chief minister's office (CMO) said steeplechaser Avinash Sable and archer Pravin Jadhav were also given Rs 50 lakh aid as part of the state's 'Mission Olympics' scheme to prepare for the mega event. International para-shooter Swaroop Unalkar, who is preparing for the Paralympics, was also given similar aid at the function, which was attended by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, minister Aditi Tatkare and others, it said.

''The chosen players have won medals at national and international competitions. They should only increase their graph and produce such performance which will make the state proud,'' the CM said. Sarnobat said the players were preparing with an aim to finish on the podium in the Olympics.