Ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has announced hefty cash rewards for athletes who would win medals in the sporting events.
As per the spokesperson for the Uttar Pradesh government, sportspersons from the state winning gold medals in the forthcoming Olympics will be rewarded Rs 6 crores while silver and bronze medalists will get Rs 4 crores and Rs 2 crores respectively. In addition to this, all the participants from Uttar Pradesh, regardless of their performance in the Olympics, will be given Rs 10 lakhs each.
For those participating in team events, the government has announced a reward of Rs 3 crores each for gold medal winners and Rs 2 crores and Rs 1 crore each, respectively, for silver and bronze medal winners.
“The state government is making all necessary arrangements for better training of players under the Khoob Khelo, Khoob Badho Mission. It is leaving no stone unturned for their proper training and encouragement. Special coaches have been appointed for their training. Besides improving the condition of hostels, the government is constructing new stadiums in the state,” the UP government spokesperson was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
The spokesperson also spoke about the work done for athletes in the last four years under the leadership of Yogi Adityanath. He said 44 hostels were set up for 890 players of various sports in 19 districts. The amount for sports kit was also increased from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,500, he added.
Among the sportspersons who participated in the Olympic Games from Uttar Pradesh are Priyanka Goswami, Annu Rani, Seema Punia, Shivpal Singh, Saurabh Chaudhary, Meraj Ahmed Khan, Satish Kumar, Arvind Singh, Vandana Kataria and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay.