Sports Ministry to provide financial support of Rs 5 lakh each for bereaved families of hockey legends

Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, on Thursday announced Rs 5 lakh each as financial support to bereaved families of Moscow Olympic gold medallists MK Kaushik and Ravinder Pal Singh, both of whom passed away last week due to COVID-related complications. The former hockey players Kaushik and Ravinder were a key part of the Gold Medal-winning Indian side at the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

"We've lost two hockey greats to Covid. MK Kaushik ji & Ravinder Pal Singh ji's contribution to Indian sport will always be remembered. As a gesture of support, the Sports Ministry is handing over Rs 5 lakh each to the bereaved families. We stand with them in this hour of grief," Rijiju tweeted. Ravinder, the former centre-half of the Indian men's hockey team represented the national side in a number of tournaments which included the Champions Trophy in Karachi (1980, 1983), World Cup in Mumbai in 1982, Asia Cup in Karachi in 1982, and the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984.

On the other hand, Arjuna Awardee Kaushik had coached both men's and women's teams during the 1990s and 2000s. Under his coaching, the Indian men's hockey team won the gold medal in the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games and the Indian women's hockey team won a bronze medal at the Doha Asian Games in 2006. He was also the assistant coach of the Indian men's hockey team, who won the Asian Games Gold in 2014. For his contribution to Indian Hockey, he was also bestowed with the Dronacharya Award in 2002.