All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) on Tuesday announced a reward of Rs 15 lakh to Gomathi Marimuthu, who won a gold medal in women's 800m race category in Asian Athletics Championship 2019 that was held in Doha, Qatar.
Earlier Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President MK Stalin announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh and the state Congress party announced Rs 5 lakh to Gomathi for clinching gold in Asian Championship.
The 30-year-old Gomathi had clocked a personal best time of 2 minutes 02.70 seconds in the women's 800m race on Monday.
Gomathi broke into tears while addressing a press conference at Chennai. "There was no light, bus services and proper roads in my village. My father used to help me during my early stage practice," she said.
"My father is a God to me. He was with me during my painful journey. Unfortunately, I missed him during my success of receiving the gold medal," Gomathi added.
Meanwhile, Gomathi said, "I request the state and central government to support me during my next stages of the journey. There were times I cried in closed rooms as I didn't get money for practice."
Gomathi also said, "Athletes who clinch national medals will get benefits from the government. Others can't. I am not lying I didn't get any help from the Tamil Nadu government. The point is that they have to support in every angle.
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