The five-time Olympian, who has put the country in the Winter Games map, said that the Sports Ministry has ignored his financial plight. Regarded as one of the pioneers of winter sports in India, Shiva Keshavan is on the brink of quitting luge. The reports in media said that the two-time Asian Champion in luge has been paying for his coach, 21-time world champion Duncan Kennedy, from his own pocket on the assurances given to him by the government last year. But with no help coming from the government, he may well quit the sport. The 34-year-old, who is hoping to represent the country in the 2018 Winter Games in Korea, felt that it will be a huge harassment for the country if there is no representation from India at the quadrennial event, and requested the government to help him.
Meanwhile, the Sports Ministry under the much-hyped Target Olympic Podium (TOP) Scheme has approved a sanction of Rs 9 lakh to badminton star Saina Nehwal for hiring a full-time physiotherapist ahead of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
