Uttar Pradesh government has announced hefty cash rewards for athletes who bag top honours at the Tokyo Olympics, beginning from July 23.
The gold medallists in the individual category will receive Rs 6 crore from the UP government. The state government has also said that it will give Rs 4 crore to athletes who win silver and Rs 2 crore to bronze winners.
For the sportspersons participating in team events, Rs 3 crore each will be given to the gold medallists while Rs 2 crore and Rs 1 crore will be given to silver and bronze medallists respectively. Moreover, Rs 10 lakh will be awarded to each athlete irrespective of their performance at the Games.
The Tokyo Olympics are scheduled to open on July 23 and over 100 Indian athletes would be gunning for podium finishes at the showpiece, which was postponed by a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) recently named the country's flag bearers for the much-awaited Games.
While Mary Kom and Manpreet Singh will be India's flag bearers at the opening ceremony of the competition, Bajrang Punia will be the flag bearer at the closing ceremony.
In a first, India will have two flag-bearers, one male and one female, at the upcoming Tokyo Games to ensure "gender parity".
In an official letter, IOA president Narinder Batra confirmed India's flag bearers for the Games and also stated that there will be around 126 athletes and 75 officials who will be traveling to Tokyo as part of the Indian contingent. The Indian athletes will compete for about 85 medal positions.
