Minister Gives Deaf Chess Players Rs 15 Lakh & Laptop
Deaf chess player Malika Handa was given Rs 15 lakh and a laptop by Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao.
Deaf chess player Malika Handa had recently posted a video on Twitter lashing out at the Punjab Government for not giving her a job or cash prize as they had previously promised. She was furious that the government did not have policies for Deaf sportspersons. Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao saw her Tweet and felt very bad at the unfair treatment of the Punjab Government and personally got in touch with Malika. He then invited Handa to Hyderabad. She then flew from Jalandhar to Hyderabad yesterday on 10 January 2022. She met the minister who gave her a cheque of Rs 15 lakh and a laptop to help her participate in the online chess tournaments. The cheque and laptop were given to her by his own personal funds. The minister said, “She is the first Deaf Indian woman to win the International Deaf Chess Championship in 2016 which took place in Armenia. She has won many other tournaments and deserves all the credit for the hard work she has put in.”
He also asked her what changes Telangana Government can make in sports to help benefit disabled sports players. He communicated with Handa with the help of an interpreter. Handa told the minister that unlike cricket, tennis, etc. chess is not recognised as a mainstream sport by the Indian government. She said that she is overwhelmed by the support given to her by the minister and the Telangana government. Rao has appealed to India’s sports minister Anurag Thakur to give Handa a government job. Currently, Handa is preparing for the world chess championship which is going to be held in September 2022 in Poland.
