The State government on Monday announced a cash prize of ₹5 crore for gold medal winners from Karnataka in the Tokyo Paralympics, which starts August 24.
The announcement was made by Sports Minister K.C. Narayana Gowda at a programme to felicitate two athletes from Karnataka participating in the Paralympics. Sakina Khatun and Niranjan Mukundan from Karnataka are participating in powerlifting and swimming, respectively. The two were given a cheque for ₹10 lakh as part of the State government’s initiative to encourage athletes. The Minister said that while ₹5 crore would be given to those winning gold medal, ₹3 crore and ₹2 crore would be given for those winning silver and bronze medals.
Mr. Gowda said that in an effort to encourage sports among children, he had written to the Primary and Secondary Education Minister to set aside an hour daily for physical education. He said that playgrounds should be made mandatory for schools, and if a school did not have one, they should rent it out. “I have requested the Minister to cancel the licence for schools that violate these orders.”
Meanwhile, the Minister flagged off the ‘Shikharadinda Sagara’ expedition in which five girls are taking part. It involves scaling of the 5,425m Kolhoi peak in Kashmir and then cover 3,000 km on cycle till Karwar and later kayaking 300 km in sea to reach Mangaluru. This will be a 45-day event being organised by General Thimmaiah National Academy of Adventure and the Indian Mountaineering Foundation.
