Author: G.S. Radhakrishna
Publication: The Telegraph
Date: September 11, 2005
URL: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050911/asp/nation/story_5224491.asp
One is glamorous, cocky, looks and sounds
good on TV and is world no. 42 in her sport.
The other, with average looks and excelling
in a non-spectator sport, is world no. 6.
The first, tennis ace Sania Mirza, commands
the second-highest sponsorship fees in India after Sachin Tendulkar and is
on record that she doesn't need government aid any more.
The second, grandmaster Koneru Humpy, appealed
to the Andhra Pradesh government for funds so that she could train for the
world chess championships coming up early next year.
So who did the money go to?
Sania, of course.
The Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy government has stunned
the state's sporting circles by rejecting Humpy's request and presenting Sania
a purse of Rs 20 lakh for her performance at the US Open.
It's the third cheque the teenage star has
received from the government in the past three months, giving her a total
of Rs 60 lakh, apart from a housing plot, a Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh
spokesman said.
The state has also promised to finance her
training by a foreign coach and visits abroad to play tournaments though as
the spokesman added, Sania has said "she does not need any further assistance,
because she has already been promised all help by her corporate sponsors".
Humpy had met the chief minister and the sports
minister to try and impress upon them how much she needed the money.
"Perhaps Humpy has paid for belonging
to the Kamma caste, which is seen as being close to the Telugu Desam Party,"
a sports official said.
"Sania is treated like a VIP. The government
has given her four personal security officers to keep off fans and treats
her like a state guest," said another city sports executive.
The rewards the state government has announced
for winners of the recent Asian athletics championships at Incheon, too, have
come under criticism. Gold-cum-silver-medallist S. Geeta received Rs 33,000;
and bronze-winner Shankar, Rs 23,00.
"They fought against the best athletes
from 40 nations; and look how they have been treated," a sportsperson
said.
"Sania is already a millionaire. We are
not against her being rewarded. But shouldn't the government take care of
other deserving sportspersons, too?" said a spokesman for the state Olympic
association.
"Both Sania and Humpy are daughters of
the soil; why differentiate between them," asked a former hockey Olympian.
As Sania climbed up the endorsement charts,
she was applauded for having broken through the cricketers' monopoly of the
sports market and fans' attention.
Many had hoped it would set the stage for
some sort of parity being established between the various sports being played
in India.
Tell that to Koneru Humpy.
