Wrestler given aid till she played for Delhi, says govt

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government on Thursday said wrestler Divya Kakran, who won a bronze medal in the recently concluded Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, was provided financial assistance till 2017, the year she last played for the city.
The education department, which also looks after sports in the city, said Kakran was given Rs 5,000 in 2010-11, Rs 10,000 in 2012-13, Rs 1 lakh in 2013-14 and Rs 42,000 each in 2014-15 and 2016-17.
“As per records, Divya played for Delhi till 2016-17 and she was suitably awarded with cash incentives as per her performance. Wrestling Federation of India has confirmed Divya Kakran has been representing Uttar Pradesh since 2017. Therefore, she is not covered under various reward schemes of the Delhi government,” said an official.
The official added that the government had always been promoting sportspersons who brought laurels to the country and awarding them under the Mission Excellence, Play and Progress, and cash incentive schemes. Till date, more than 19,000 sportspersons have been given cash incentives of about Rs 92 crore, said an official.
“She has never applied for a cash incentive after 2018. As per our records, she has also never applied for financial assistance under Mission Excellence or Play and Progress,” said an official.
The government’s reaction came hours after the wrestler told news agency ANI that despite assurances, the Delhi government did not provide her any support. “I met CM Kejriwal in 2017 after winning a medal in Asiad, and he assured me of help if I gave him a letter. I did, but he never got back to me,” ANI quoted her as saying.
Kakran said the UP government recognised her achievements through the Rani Laxmi Bai Award in 2019. “In 2020, they gave me a life-long pension. Yesterday, they announced Rs 50 lakh and a gazetted officer-rank post. The UP government helped me, even the Haryana government did. But Delhi never came to help,” she had said.