After Outrage, Haryana Suspends Order On Athletes' Earnings

The Haryana government has been slammed by a number of sportspersons from the state after its decision that every athlete must hand over one-third of their earnings from sports events or endorsements deals.

The government's order sparked an outrage. Haryana's Sports and Youth Affairs department on June 8 decided to put a hold on the controversial notification. The notification was issued on April 30, 2018, asking players to deposit 33 per cent of their income in Haryana State Sports Council's account.

"The Governor of Haryana is pleased to notify the following conditions governing the participation of sportspersons in professional sports or commercial endorsements and employed in any department of the state government or anybody controlled by the State," the order read.

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However, state Chief Minister ML Khattar has now asked the sports department to put the notification file under review. His request to the department asking to put the notification on hold, is offing.

I have asked for the relevant file of Sports Department to be shown to me & the notification dated 30th April to be put on hold till further orders.We are proud of the immense contribution by our sportspersons & I assure them of a just consideration of all issues affecting them.

— Manohar Lal (@mlkhattar) June 8, 2018

"I have asked for the relevant file of the sports department to be shown to me and the notification dated 30th April to be put on hold till further orders.We are proud of the immense contribution by our sportspersons & I assure them of a just consideration of all issues affecting them (sic)," the Chief Minister tweeted after the order led to an outrage.

The Haryana government had the intention of using the money collected from sportspersons for the development of sports in the state. It was assured that the money would be deposited with the Haryana State Sports Council

The notification triggered a controversy with several members of the sports fraternity calling out the issue.

"This will affect the morale of sportspersons and might affect their performance as well," wrestler Sushil Kumar said, India Today reported.

Wrestler Babita Phogat said, "Does the government even realize how much of hard work a sportsperson puts in? How can they ask for one-third of their income? I do not support this at all. Government should've at least discussed it with us."

Fellow wrestler and Olympic bronze-medallist Yogeshwar Dutt said, "God save us from such officials, who are taking senseless decisions like this. Their contribution to development of sports in Haryana has been zero but I am sure, they will play a big role in the decline of sports in the state," he tweeted.

"Now, athletes will move to other states and these officials will be responsible for this," he added.