Grooming champions

Abhinav Bindra���s parents spent Rs 10 cr on his training. Once Bindra senior recognised his son���s talent, he loosened his purse strings till the gold came home. Should you do that too? Spend all your savings, may be even take a bank loan to fulfill your child���s dream of becoming a champion sports person?
What would it cost? It varies with the discipline.If it���s tennis, be prepared to spend Rs 15-20,000 a month on training, transport and gear. Thereafter, expenses only go up, including the travel budget if your child starts participating in junior-level tournaments. There are no returns; the prize money at the junior level is never more than Rs 4,000. ������One can expect to earn from 17-18 years, but the national circuit isn���t very lucrative and only the top 8-10 players can be supported financially,������ says Bobby Singh, director, Peninsula Institute, a training centre in Delhi.
Most individual sport follow the same pattern. A national-level swimmer may spend between Rs 2-2.5 lakh annually on food, training and kit. Swimming costumes cost between Rs 15-20,000 and can be worn for 3-4 events at the most. Ace swimmer Shikha Tandon���s father Rahul says he spends between Rs 3-5 lakh on her training annually.
Government scholarships are nominal: a national-level swimmer gets a token amount of Rs 18,000 annually. Plus, swimming competitions don���t offer prize money. Later, they can become coaches.
������In football, training can go up to Rs 20,000 annually and by 17-18 years, one can earn a living by joining local clubs,������ says Amit Saran, CEO, SPTsports, a Bangalore-based sports promotion company.
Experts say it���s important for parents to have a corpus of funds that will meet their child���s training and other requirements and also support alternative career plans in case of a contingency. Also, it���s important to be covered by an insurance policy that takes care of sport injury.
amrita.singh@timesgroup.com