Tamil Nadu Sports Minister felicitates families of Olympic-bound athletes

Tamil Nadu Sports Minister Siva M Meyyanathan on Friday distributed Rs five lakh cash award to the Olympic-bound athletes from the state. The five athletes whose families were felicitated were Arokia Rajiv, Subha Venkatesan, Dhanalakshmi Sekhar, Revathi Veeramani, and Nanganathan Pandi. A total of Rs 25 lakh was given to the parents of the five sportspersons.

"Hon'ble Sports Minister of Tamil Nadu Shri Siva M Meyyanathan distributed Rs 5 lakhs cash awards to the Olympic-bound athletes from the States. A total of Rs 25 lakhs was given to the parents of 5 sportspersons. #Cheer4India," Khelo India tweeted.

On Thursday, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik encouraged the Odisha Olympians, who will be participating in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, beginning July 23.

Wishing good luck to the Olympic-bound athletes, Patnaik in an official release said: "For every athlete, Olympics is the biggest dream, and you all have turned role models for the youth. You have brought pride to your family and the state. With your utmost determination, hard work and discipline, you will definitely win medals."

On this occasion, the Chief Minister also announced the price money for the Olympic medal winners. The Chief Minister announced that Rs 6 crore would be given to the gold medalist and Rs 4 crore to the silver medalist and Rs 2.5 crore to the bronze medalist by the state government.

He also announced an award of Rs 15 lakh for each of the participants in Olympics.

World Champion para shuttler Pramod Bhagat, ace sprinter Dutee Chand and hockey players Namita Toppo, Deep Grace Ekka, Amit Rohidas, and Birendra Lakra who joined via video-conferencing were applauded for their achievements in sports by the Chief Minister and senior officials of the Odisha Government and officials of Sports and Youth Services Department and encouraged to perform to the best of their potential at the Games.

Participating in the event, Sports Minister Tusharkanti Behera congratulated the athletes and hoped that their success at the Olympics would bring glory to Odisha in the field of sports.

( With inputs from ANI )