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CWG-2022 :Big money, govt jobs to U.P. athletes who bag medals
The gold medallists in the games would get a cash award of ₹1.50 crore, whereas ₹75 lakh and ₹50 lakh would be given to those who win silver and bronze medals. They would also be given direct appointments in various government departments in Uttar Pradesh.
LUCKNOW The motto “Go and get it” inspires athletes in Uttar Pradesh to win medals at international competitions. This time again, over the next 11 days, if any one wins a medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, he or she will not only get big money but also be given direct appointments in various government departments in Uttar Pradesh.
This time 13 athletes, including Uttar Pradesh’s “daughter-in-law” and discus thrower Seema Punia (who is a two-time Olympian and four-time Commonwealth Games medallist), are participating in the CWG 2022 and they all are entitled to get direct postings on gazetted posts in 10 different departments under the government order called “The Uttar Pradesh International Games Medal Winners, Direct Recruitment Rules, 2022” if they win medals.
Besides this, the gold medallists in the games would also get a cash award of ₹1.50 crore, whereas ₹75 lakh and ₹50 lakh would be given to those who win silver and bronze medals.
“Hockey Olympian Lalit Upadhyaya was already offered a position in the state government after the Indian team won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, and anyone who wins a medal in Birmingham will be employed in 10 different departments, including the UP Police Services,” UP’s director of sports, RP Singh said on Friday.
“We have 24 posts, including seven in UP Police Services, and have provisions, if 13 of our athletes at the Commonwealth Games win medals,” said Singh, adding, “ ₹5 lakh would be given as participation fee, even if one doesn’t win a medal at the CWG 2022.”
He, however, said the scheme to appoint medallist athletes directly to gazette posts in the state government came up this May and sportspersons who won medals on or after September 1, 2020 in international events were entitled to the jobs under this scheme.
It is learnt that the Yogi Adityanath government offered big money to those who won medals at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. In total, ₹42 crore was distributed among the medallists in the Tokyo Olympics. Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra received the top purse of ₹2 crore for winning a historical gold, while wrestler Ravi Dahiya and lifter Mirabai Chanu received ₹1.5 crore each. Shuttler PV Sindhu, boxer Lovlina Borgohain and wrestler Bajrang Punia received ₹1 crore each.
Each of the 19 Indian men’s hockey players who won bronze in Tokyo received ₹1 crore. The members of the women’s hockey team who finished fourth in Tokyo and golfer Aditi Ashok, who narrowly missed out on a bronze medal, also received ₹50 lakh each.
All 10 athletes from Uttar Pradesh, who participated in the Tokyo Games, were also given ₹25 lakh each. “It’s really a big support by the UP government to the athletes winning medals in the Tokyo Olympics,” Chopra had said after receiving the cheque then.
The Paralympians too were given ₹32.5 crore. Young para-shooter Avani Lekhara was given ₹2 crore, while 22 others, including two from UP i.e. high jumper Praveen Kumar and shuttler Suhas LY were awarded ₹4 crore each for winning silver medals.
Besides offering big money and jobs, the UP government has recently decided to appoint at least 50 former international athletes as coaches at a remuneration of ₹1.5 lakh per month. “Many candidates have already applied for the jobs and we are in the process of appointing them,” said Singh, who is also the chairman of Hockey India’s High-Performance Committee.
The government has also launched a scheme to support athletes under its new “Eklavya Kreeda Kosh” in which athletes would be getting huge financial support and their insurance would also be done by the government.
Interestingly, not only the UP government but other state governments like Haryana, Gujarat, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab etc also have their own schemes for jobs and cash awards to athletes winning medals at big events like Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. The Indian Olympic Association also offers handsome cash awards to the medallists.
