# India’s sporting rise gets private and state backing 2026-08-18T03:56:17+00:00 | Sports | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Olympic Gold Quest backed nine of India’s 39 medallists at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, according to Livemint. The private non-profit’s spending rose from Rs 19 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 77 crore in 2024-25, above the government’s Rs 34.8 crore Target Olympic Podium Scheme allocation. OGQ supports athletes with coaching, equipment, travel and sports science. Livemint reports that OGQ now supports 178 senior athletes, 110 junior scholars and 111 para-athletes, with donations reaching Rs 92.1 crore in 2024-25. Gulf News takes a broader view of India’s sporting ambitions, citing coach Karmakar’s praise for the government’s Khelo India programme and its role in developing athletes such as Manu Bhaker. It also notes the gap between India’s 100-plus medals at the 2023 Asian Games and six at Paris 2024. Former athlete PT Usha expects a stronger medal haul at Los Angeles 2028. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The two accounts focus on different parts of India’s sports system. Livemint stresses OGQ’s funding, specialist support and larger spending per athlete, while giving less attention to the state’s wider pipeline. Gulf News foregrounds Khelo India and official ambition, with less detail on private philanthropy and institutional finances. Neither account alone captures the full picture: elite results depend on both targeted backing and broad athlete development, while recent medal totals show uneven progress across competitions. The clearest measure will be India’s performance at Los Angeles 2028, especially after the six-medal return from Paris 2024. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 1 pro-government, 1 neutral - livemint.com (neutral report) Compares OGQu2019s finances and support with the government scheme - gulfnews.com (pro government) Leads with praise for Khelo India and Modiu2019s sporting vision This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-19T12:18:33+00:00. Tags: Geet Sethi, Olympic Gold Quest, Prakash Padukone, Target Olympic Podium Scheme, Viswanathan Anand Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/private-group-ogq-now-outspends-government-on-indias-olympic-hopefuls/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/private-group-ogq-now-outspends-government-on-indias-olympic-hopefuls/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/