Ministry clears Rs 2 lakh each for women’s hockey team

Black Armband Protest
BANGALORE: At last, it was pay day for the Indian women’s hockey team. The players, who went on a black armband protest in Bhopal last week to turn the nation’s attention towards their plight, will be richer by Rs 2 lakh on Thursday.

The Union sports ministry will pay the amount to all the players and team officials (numbering 50) at the Sports Authority of India centre in Bhopal on Thursday morning, team captain Surinder Kaur told TOI.

The ministry will be essentially distributing the Rs 1 crore received from the Madhya Pradesh government last week. Initially, the ministry had said that the contribution would help in the formation of a fund to develop women’s hockey but apparently changed its mind once MP chief minister Shivraj Chouhan insisted that the money had to go the girls.