Junior and sub junior athletes, who won international medals, will no longer get cash prizes from the government. Actually, this change has come into force from 1 February 2025. This major policy change of the Sports Ministry aims to deal with double threats of doping and age fraud as well as keep the youth’s hunger alive. According to the old system, the athlete, who won the gold medal in the Junior World Championship, used to get around Rs 13 lakh, while the athlete, who secured the top position on the podium in the Asian or Commonwealth, received a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh.
An official of the Sports Ministry told The Indian Express that a major factor behind this decision was to promote podium finish kebajay developmental events. The official said that, we have seen that only India follows the model where the junior championship is given more importance. As a result, we have seen that athletes work so hard at the level that they either get tired or their hunger ends as long as they arrive at the elite stage.
Along with this, the Ministry of Sports has made Mallakhamb, e-Sports and even critics to win the brake-dasting world and Mahadvipi Championship medalists to receive cash prizes. According to PTI news, the Sports Ministry has released a list of 51 sports in which the medal winning cash prizes will be eligible. It includes all the sports that are part of the Olympic Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and Vishwa Vidyalaya Games. The list also includes Kho-Kho, whose first World Cup was held in Delhi last month.
