Bhubaneswar: In a ceremony held today at the Biju Patnaik Weightlifting Hall at the Kalinga Stadium, Minister of Sports and Youth Services Tusharkanti Behera, Chairman Hockey Promotion Council of Odisha, Dilip Tirkey and Joint Secretary to Government, Sailendra Jena, felicitated cash awards to state athletes who won medals at the Khelo India Youth Games 2022 and other athletic meets in the past year. Total cash award of Rs 1.85crore, was given away at the felicitation ceremony today.
Odisha athletes had a fantastic run at the KIYG 2022, their best performance yet winning a total of 30 medals, including 11 Gold, 8 Silver, and 11 Bronze. The government honoured their achievement by awarding cash prizes of Rs 1 lakh, Rs 75,000, and Rs 50,000 for Gold, Silver and Bronze medals, respectively, to every medal winner, regardless of whether their accomplishment was in a team or individual sport.
Among the KIYG athletes facilitated were, Dondapati Mrutyam Jayaram who won Gold in 100m Run and was awarded Rs 1 Lakh; Sabita Toppo won Gold in Long Jump and 100m Hurdles, and was awarded Rs 2 Lakhs; Swagat Kumar Behera won Silver in Triple Jump and was awarded Rs 75,000; Merymukta Soreng won Bronze in Triple Jump and was awarded Rs 50,000. The 400M Boys relay team than won a gold and the 400M Girl’s relay team that won a Silver were granted Rs 4 Lakhs and Rs 2 Lakhs respectively.
The 18-member Hockey Men’s Team that secured a silver medal, following a hard-fought loss to hosts Madhya Pradesh in the final received a cash award of Rs. 75,000 for each member.
