AICS recommends medical insurance for sportspersons

The All India Council of Sports today requested the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), National Sports Federations (NSF) and chief ministers of all states to cover the country's athletes under a medical insurance.

"In the absence of any concrete medical assistance scheme for sportspersons, chief ministers of all states, Indian Olympic Association and National Sports Federations have been requested to provide medical insurance coverage to their respective sportspersons," the AICS said in a release.

The 10th meeting of AICS was held under the chairmanship of Vijay Kumar Malhotra.

"Since there is a dire need of medical attendance to sportspersons, AICS has requested the Army Medical Service to extend their facilities to our sportspersons especially for the sportspersons living in remote areas like Arunachal Pradesh, Leh (Ladakh), Andaman & Nicobar Island," the AICS added.

Malhotra, a veteran politician and sports administrator, congratulated Hima Das, who scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman athlete to win a gold at the world level.

Earlier this month, the teenager from a village in Assam clinched the top spot in the women's 400m final race in the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships in Finland.

Malhotra appreciated the recent performance of Indian archers and shuttlers for winning medals in various international tournaments. He wished luck to the Indian contingent for the upcoming Asian Games.