Olympics medallist Swapnil Kusale's father demands Rs 5 crore and flat in Pune for son, says 'disappointed by Rs 2 crore'
Suresh Kusale, the father of Paris Olympics 2024 bronze medallist Swapnil Kusale, has said that the Rs 2 crore his son will be awarded by the Maharashtra government for his achievement on the world stage was 'disappointing'. According to Suresh Kusale, his son should get Rs 5 crore in prize money and a flat near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Sports Complex in Balewadi, Pune.??
Haryana pays better
Suresh, a native of Kolhapur, pointed out that Haryana pays a much higher amount as prize money for its Olympic athletes and suggested that Maharashtra should at least do the same or even better.??
"The Haryana government gives Rs 5 crore to each of its (Olympics medal-winning) players (Haryana gives Rs 6 crore to a gold medallist, Rs 4 crore to a silver medallist, Rs 2.5 crore to a bronze winner). As per a new policy announced by the Maharashtra government, an Olympic bronze medal winner will get Rs 2 crore," he said.??
Only second Olympic medalist form Maharashtra?
According to Suresh, his son should have been awarded prize money of at least Rs 5 crore, as he is only the second person from Maharashtra to win an Olympic medal in 72 years, the first being KD Jadhav.??
Suresh also asked if his son's humble background was the reason why the prize money was low.??
"Is the amount kept low because Swapnil is from a humble background? Would the reward amount have remained the same if he had been the son of an MLA or a minister?" he asked.??
'Career in some other sport'
He even went on to claim that he would have pursued Swapnil to take up some other sport.??
"Had I known such an outcome, I would have persuaded him to explore a career in some other sport," he said.??
Father's other demands
Apart from the Rs 5 crore prize money, Suresh also demanded a flat near Balewadi Sports Stadium for his son and added that Swapnil's name should be given to the 50-metre-three-position rifle shooting arena.??
Suresh Kusale's bronze in Paris
The 29-year-old Swapnil Kusale won a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics in the 50m rifle 3 positions event in August. He was the only non-Haryanvi athlete to win an individual medal for India in Paris 2024.
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