The sports ministry has given the go-ahead for a strong team of 88 Indian athletes to participate in the 9th Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China from February 7-14. This decision ends weeks of uncertainty about how many athletes would go.
The Indian team will include 59 athletes and 29 officials who will compete in events like alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, figure skating, short track speed skating, and speed skating. The government will pay for all their expenses.
However, the 23-member men’s ice hockey team and their seven support staff will be participating without any cost to the government. This means they will pay their own way. The chef-de-mission, who is a member of the Ice Hockey Association of India, is also going without costing the government anything.
Excitingly, this is the first time that the government is providing full financial support for Indian athletes in these winter sports through the Assistance to National Sports Federations (ANSF) Scheme. Earlier this month, the Indian Olympic Association sent the names of 76 athletes for approval, but the ministry only approved 41, as some of the athletes did not meet the required qualifications.
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