Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has announced a Rs 2 crore funding for two-time world champion boxer Nikhat Zareen to prepare for the Olympics. CM KCR said the funding was for the coaching and training of Zareen.


The CM wished Zareen and expressed hope that she would win a gold medal in the next Olympics and enhance the prestige of the state and the country.


CM KCR called Zareen to the Secretariat on Thursday and assured her of all support from the Telangana government for coaching, travel and other expenses to prepare for the Olympics, which will be held in Paris next year. 


The CM directed Chief Secretary A Santhi Kumari to take necessary action in this regard. Home Minister Mehmood Ali, Sports Minister V. Srinivas Goud, and ministers Malla Reddy, Prashanth Reddy, and others were present.


Zareen won the gold medal in the 50 kg category finals of the Women's World Boxing Championship held in New Delhi In March this year. This was her second gold medal in the world championship competition.


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Last year, the Telangana government announced a cash prize of Rs 2 crore to Nikhat for winning a gold medal at the World Boxing Championship in Turkey. The government also decided to allot a residential plot to her in Hyderabad.


Nikhat, who hails from Nizamabad district, had become the fifth Indian woman boxer to win a gold medal at the world championship.


On Monday, CM KCR announced Rs 2.5 crore for 16-year-old Uppala Praneeth, who has been conferred the grandmaster title by World Chess Federation. CM KCR called Praneeth and his parents to the Secretariat and blessed the grandmaster.


He praised Praneeth's parents, who worked hard and trained him well. The CM said that Praneeth's rise as a grandmaster was proof that the Telangana government was providing incentives to sportspersons and that the measures taken for the development of different sports were yielding positive results.


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