Badminton player P.V. Sindhu’s medal-winning performance in the Rio Olympics won for her big money of Rs.3 crore, a 1,000-square yard residential plot and a Group-I officer job of her choice from the Andhra Pradesh government and Rs.50 lakh for her coach Pullela Gopi Chand.
An announcement to that effect was made by A.P. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu in a briefing by him on the decisions taken at the Cabinet meeting on Saturday.
Showering praises on Ms. Sindhu, Mr. Naidu attributed the achievements of star players like Gopi Chand, Saina Nehwal, Karanam Malleswari and Sindhu to the world-class sporting infrastructure he had created in Hyderabad.
He recalled that the successful conduct of the National Games in 2002 and Afro-Asian Games in the subsequent year, both in Hyderabad, gave a fillip to prospects of talented players like them. It paved the way for holding the Commonwealth Games in India.
From TelanganaThe Telangana government on Saturday announced Rs. 5 crore, a house site of 1,000-square yard and a suitable job, if she was willing to accept, for Ms. Sindhu.
A grand welcome would also be organised on her arrival in Hyderabad on August 22.
This was decided at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
“She’s the daughter of Hyderabad and Telangana and it has been the government policy to encourage sportspersons with international calibre,” Mr. Rao said. He also announced Rs.1 crore reward to Mr. Gopi Chand.
