It’s been nicely over a month since their son, national-ranked TT participant Vishwa Deenadayalan, misplaced his life in a street accident whereas on his approach to Shillong for an inter-state event, and his dad and mom are nonetheless ready for a phrase from Sports Authority of India (SAI) over insurance coverage cowl underneath the Government’s flagship
Khelo India — an initiative to “establish India as a great sporting nation”.
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The 18-year-old’s demise on the street from Guwahati to Shillong on April 17 had come as a shock to the sporting world with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur extending their condolences.
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But Vishwa’s father Deenadayalan advised The Indian Express that it has been over three weeks since he wrote to the Sports Ministry and SAI on the problem of insurance coverage protection however hasn’t obtained a reply but.
“We had great hopes for Vishwa. He kept telling me he would qualify for the World Championships this year. I used to pray to God to keep me alive till I saw him play in the Olympics. But he’s no more. We have lost everything,” the daddy stated, choking up with emotion.
Deenadayalan, 58, is unemployed after shedding his job with an MNC’s HR division in Chennai in 2020. His spouse, Anuradha, manages their house within the metropolis. “We have managed with my savings,” he stated.
When contacted by The Indian Express, SAI stated in an announcement that Vishwa was not coated underneath its guidelines since he was “not a trainee at National Centre of Excellence or Khelo India accredited academy in the last cycle (June 1, 2021 to May 31, 2022).”
The Tamil Nadu participant was a sub-junior and junior nationwide champ, and a part of the senior India workforce set-up. Seen as a rising star, he used to coach on the Krishnaswamy TT membership in Chennai, a non-accredited centre.
Despite SAI’s response to this newspaper, a doc uploaded on the Khelo India web site doesn’t differentiate between accredited or non-accredited academies. Under the sub-head “Funding to Khelo India Athlete (KIA) trained in non accredited academies”, the authority particulars the allowance allowed with this line on the finish: “They will also be given benefit of insurance claim.”
Deenadayalan stated he had “seen the document that all Khelo India athletes were insured” and “read in newspapers” about it — and all he needs is for the Government to take a look at the case “sympathetically” since his son was “on national duty” when the accident occurred.
“The accident happened to my son while he was on duty to represent Tamil Nadu in the Senior National Table Tennis Championship. It is quite clear that he was on national duty and not on any personal trip. The Government should consider the case sympathetically and pay the coverage of Rs 25 lakh that all Khelo India athletes get because the athletes are national assets,” he stated.
Asked concerning the norms posted on its web site, SAI stated: “In the insurance cycle from June 1, 2021 to May 31, 2022, Khelo India athletes in SAI National Centre of Excellence and Khelo India accredited centres were insured, centrally. Athletes training in a non-accredited academy were allowed insurance claims reimbursement if they do their insurance on their own.”
Vishwa’s father says he wasn’t apprised of the coverage. “If this was the case, we should have been told, and we would have taken private insurance and submitted the necessary documents,” he stated.
The Khelo India (KI) programme was launched in 2018 with the goal of creating sports activities on the grassroots degree. Promising gamers shortlisted by the KI committee are offered monetary help of 5 lakh every year other than different advantages.
SAI stated in its assertion that it will lengthen help to the household. “SAI has advised the family to apply for a one-time grant under Deendayal Upadhyaya fund from the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports,” it stated. Under this fund, an athlete is entitled to about Rs 5 lakh in all.
There has been no written communication from SAI, the daddy stated.
On April 17, Vishwa was travelling from Guwahati to Shillong with three teammates to take part within the event when a trailer truck ploughed via the divider and smashed into their automotive.
Vishwa was declared “brought dead” by the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences. His teammates — R Santosh Kumar, S Abinash Prasannaji and D Kishore Kumar — suffered accidents within the accident.
