The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will offer cash prizes to sports-persons who will qualify for the 2024 Olympics, which will be held in Paris.
“The announcement of the cash prize award is to boost the confidence of young athletes from the city, who dream of representing their country in the Olympics. It will motivate many athletes as they are already training hard to achieve success at the international level,” said Ajay Khedekar, president, PMC sports committee.
“The players who qualify will get ₹ 5 lakh, with cash incentive increasing for a medal won,” added Khedekar.
“It is a really very motivational announcement from the PMC. Financial support plays a very important role in the career of athletes. Many athletes will strive to perform better,” said Purva Barve, ranked ninth by the Badminton Association of India.
Sprint queen from the city, Avantika Narale, who won the 100m sprint gold medal at the Asian Youth Athletic Championship in 2019, said, “Announcement of cash rewards helps athletes focus as they are assured of getting rewarded. It is a very good announcement by the PMC and they should keep motivating athletes.”
PMC’s incentives for 2024 Olympics
Qualification: ₹5 lakh
Gold medal: ₹50 lakh
Silver medal: ₹25 lakh
Bronze medal: ₹15 lakh
News Source- Hindustan Times