Indian boxer Gaurav Bidhuri, a World Championship bronze medallist, has known as for better recognition of Olympic sports activities in India, highlighting the disparity in consideration given to completely different sports activities. Chatting with IANS, Bidhuri highlighted the struggles of athletes in sports activities like boxing, wrestling, and athletics, which face challenges in sponsorship, media protection, and crowd help, in contrast to cricket, which advantages from widespread reputation and monetary backing.
‘It isn’t that solely Virat Kohli works onerous; we additionally work very onerous. Folks ought to give the identical like to Olympic sports activities. With all due respect, representing India in main sports activities is way more durable than cricket,” the world championship medallist advised IANS.
His comment got here a day after the BCCI introduced a money reward of Rs 58 crore for Workforce India after their triumph on the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 to honour the gamers, teaching and help employees and members of the choice committee.
Bidhuri earlier revealed that he needed to be a cricketer, however his father Dharmender Bidhuri needed him to be a boxer.
In India, sports activities aside from cricket typically obtain little consideration till an athlete wins a medal. India’s obsession with cricket is well-known, typically overshadowing different sports activities.
In 2023, India’s highest-ranked males’s singles tennis participant Sumit Nagal disclosed his monetary difficulties and expressed remorse over the insufficiency of each monetary backing and correct steering for gamers.
Final 12 months, Bidhuri joined chess veteran Tania Sachdeva to slam the Delhi authorities for discrimination in direction of athletes and overlooking their achievements.
Furthermore, veteran shuttler Ashwini Ponappa revealed that she performed all of the tournaments on her personal till November 2023 and likewise paid for her private coach from her pocket.
Indian athletes have achieved immense success in mega occasions just like the Olympics and World Championships, but many nonetheless face monetary and infrastructural challenges. Bidhuri’s comment echoes the feelings of a number of sportspersons who search equal recognition and help for non-cricketing disciplines.
(Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)
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