Kerala Minister seeks Centre's nod to represent Kerala at Olympics
What's the story
Kerala Sports Minister V Abdurahiman will soon fly to Japan to cheer the sports stars from Kerala during the upcoming Tokyo Olympics at his own expense if everything goes as planned. He said he would seek the Centre's permission on Tuesday (today) to travel to Japan as the official representative of the state government for the Tokyo Olympics, slated to begin on July 23.
Details
He'd be first minister in new government to travel abroad
Interestingly, if the permission is granted, he would be the first minister in the second Pinarayi Vijayan government to go for a foreign tour after it came to power in May this year. The minister said that he had already received an invitation from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to travel to Japan in connection with the Olympics.
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Final decision will be taken after considering COVID-19 situation: Minister
"I will seek the Centre's nod today to travel to Japan. If it is granted, I will be the official representative of the state government. But, the final decision of the travel will be taken only after considering the COVID-19 situation also," Abdurahiman told PTI.
Athletes
Intention is to support athletes from the state: Abdurahiman
The minister said that the intention of his proposed trip is to extend support and maximum encouragement to the nine sports persons from the state who are participating in various categories. Asked about spending money from own pocket for the trip, the minister said it was a time when the government was strictly implementing austerity measures in view of financial constraints and pandemic blues.
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Here are the nine Keralite athletes participating in Tokyo Olympics
The nine Keralite sports stars qualified to take part in the Tokyo Olympics are PR Sreejesh, Sajan Prakash, M Sreeshankar, KT Irfan, Jabir MP, Muhammed Anas, Amoj Jacob, Nirmal Noah Tom, and Alex Antony.