Uttar Pradesh govt to give cash awards to all participants of Tokyo Olympics: Yogi Adityanath

Gorakhpur, Aug 13: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said the state government will honour with cash awards all those who participated in the recently concluded Tokyo Olympics at an event in Lucknow on August 19.

He said 75 sportspersons from each of the state's 75 districts will also be invited and their coaches will also be honoured at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.

Adityanath made the remarks at a ceremony to honour 75 sportspersons, including three Olympians, at the Gorakhnath temple here on the occasion of Nag Panchami. He announced a cash award of Rs 2 crore for Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra, Rs 1.5 crore each for silver medallists, Rs 1 crore for each member of the men's hockey team that won the bronze medal and Rs 50 lakh for each member of the women's hockey team.

Due to the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India's biggest-ever contingent took part in the Tokyo Olympics and the athletes proved themselves in the challenging time of COVID-19, he added.

Adityanath said, "We have already said that sportspersons from the state will get Rs 6 crore for an Olympic gold medal, Rs 3 crore for a silver medal and Rs 1 crore for a bronze medal. We will also give cash awards to all the Olympic participants. We have also decided to give cash awards for Commonwealth Games and Asian Games."

Praising the sportspersons from Gorakhpur, the CM said, "I didn't know that we have so many gems in Gorakhpur. We are fortunate to have three Olympians with us. They will certainly motivate and help the budding sportspersons with their experience. "All the three Olympians are women and they are hockey players. They are the answer to those who say women can't do anything."

The three women's hockey players who were honoured on the occasion are Prem Maya, Ranjana Srivastav and Preeti Dubey.