Maharashtra govt hikes reward money for medal winners of Commonwealth Games

"Earlier, a gold medal recipient in the Commonwealth Games was given Rs 10 lakh. The amount has now been hiked to Rs 50 lakh," state Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Girish Mahajan said.

The Maharashtra government has hiked the reward money for medal recipients of the Commonwealth Games by up to five times with a gold winner now getting Rs 50 lakh, state Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Girish Mahajan said on Friday.

Talking to reporters here, Mahajan said the reward money for Commonwealth Games medal winners given by the Maharashtra government was less compared to states like Haryana and Punjab.

"Earlier, a gold medal recipient in the Commonwealth Games was given Rs 10 lakh. The amount has now been hiked to Rs 50 lakh," he said. A recipient of silver medal will now get Rs 30 lakh, instead of Rs 7.5 lakh earlier, while a bronze winner will get Rs 20 lakh instead of Rs 5 lakh. The minister said 14 players from the state participated in the just concluded Commonwealth Games at Birmingham in the UK. Of these, seven players bagged a total of eight medals. These players, along with their coaches, will together get Rs 3.5 crore in reward money, Mahajan said.