Ex-Olympians hail Gill for increasing pension

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Posted online: Thursday , July 17, 2008 at 04:03:20

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New Delhi, July 17: Former Olympians, including triple hockey gold medallist Balbir Singh, has expressed their gratitude to Sports Minister MS Gill for his decision to double the sports pension.

In a letter to Gill, the hockey legend said the medal winners of the country were happy to learn that their monthly pension would be doubled with effect from July 1.

"I being one of the senior-most recipients approach you to convey our sincere gratitude," Balbir wrote in the letter. The legendary player rued that so far it was only lip service and no concrete steps for the Olympians and said Gill's decision was a welcome step.

"Besides giving due recognition to the medal winners, this decision provides a big incentive to the younger crop of talented sportspersons and their parents," Balbir said.

Gill said that though it was heart-warming to get such feedback from the former players, he still felt they deserved more.

"For instance, when you pay Rs 10,000 to someone like PT Usha, you know it's just not enough. Anyway, this amount is just a token of our respect for them," Gill said.

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