Keralam govt to honour CWG 2026 medallists; Sreeshankar, Basil to be given Rs 20 lakh

Thiruvananthapuram (Keralam) [India], August 13 (ANI): The Kerala government will honour its Malayali athletes with cash awards who won medals at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow
Keralam Sports Minister OJ Janeesh on Thursday said that the decison was taken at a cabinet meeting held on Thursday.
While speaking to reporters, O J Janeesh said, "Kerala has decided to honour Malayali athletes who won medals at the Commonwealth Games. The Cabinet meeting held on Thursday decided to award Rs 20 lakh each to Murali Sreeshankar, who won a silver medal in the long jump, and para-athlete Mohammed Basil, who won silver in the men's 100 metres," he said.
"A cash award of Rs 20 lakh each will also be given to Divi Bijesh, who won the Under-12 World Chess Championship, and Sandra Mol Sabu, a member of the Indian team that won gold in the mixed relay at the Under-23 Asian Games," O J Janeesh said.
The Minister further said, "Commonwealth Games swimming finalist Sajan Prakash and 4x400m mixed relay finalist Ansa Babu will receive Rs 5 lakh each. The coaches of Sreesankar Murali and Mohammed Basil will be awarded Rs 2 lakh each," said the Keralam Sports Minister.
The Minister added, "Sreesankar had received Rs 10 lakh for his silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Under the existing norms, athletes who reach the Commonwealth final are eligible for Rs 5 lakh, while medal winners receive Rs 5 lakh for gold, Rs 3 lakh for silver and Rs 1 lakh for bronze. The government decided to increase the rewards after finding that the existing amounts were inadequate," he said.
O J Janeesh said the government aims to make Kerala's sports sector more "athlete-friendly" and what he said to avoid "excessive politicisation of sports".
"The government's declared policy is to make the sports sector more athlete-friendly and to avoid excessive politicisation of sports. Prize money for athletes who won medals at various national and international competitions has been pending since 2019. The government is making intensive efforts to clear the arrears inherited from the previous administration. As a first step, Rs 1.5 crore has already been sanctioned, and procedures are underway to release the remaining amount within the next few months," he said. (ANI)