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What's the story?
India's new Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore kick-started his tenure by visiting the Sports Authority of India and offering aid to teenage Delhi sprinter Nisar Ahmed. The 15-year-old child prodigy had recently set a U-16 national record at the Delhi State Athletics meet.
"Respect for every athlete and facilities for every player who is representing the country [The philosophy of sports ministry]. The environment and attitude in this ministry need to change. There is only one VIP and that is the sportsperson and nobody else," Rathore had earlier said.
In case you didn't know
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore earlier this week became the first sportsperson to become India's sports minister. This is the second portfolio he holds as he is also the Minister of State for the Information and Broadcasting.
Nisar's father works as a rickshaw driver while his mother works as a domestic help. Nisar's father Mohammed Haq is usually hired to transport construction material to building sites.
The heart of the matter
When he won the gold medal, Ahmed said that all he wanted to do at that moment was to run home. His parents admitted that they knew little of athletics and the only knowledge they had was of the few videos that Nisar showed them on his mobile phone.
Haq had borrowed Rs 28,000 to aid in his son's training but had been unable to repay the debt. However, the Sports Ministry, led by Rathore, jumped in and offered to aid them.
Rathore said that the main priority is identifying potential talent and the Ministry contacted Nisar and provided the necessary aid. He re-affirmed the same in a tweet below.
What's next?
When Rathore was appointed as the Sports Minister, everybody in the cricket fraternity were delighted as they were sure that he would revamp the sporting scene in India. Rathore's aid comes just a few days after he assessed the facilities at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi.
Sportskeeda's Take
It is truly heartwarming to see that the newly appointed Sports Minister has already begun to take the job seriously and is helping shape the future of Indian Sport. We hope that it will continue in the near future.
