BENGALURU: It was a bonanza for three athletes from Karnataka who are representing India at the Tokyo Olympics, as the State Government provided Rs 10 lakh cash to them on Wednesday. They are part of the 120-member Indian contingent taking part in the mega event from July 23 to August 8.
Felicitating ace swimmer Srihari Nataraj and his family members at a ceremony at the CM’s home-office “Krishna” in Bengaluru, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said, “We are proud of Srihari Nataraj (Swimming), Fouaad Mirza (Equestrian) and Aditi Ashok (Golf) from Karnataka, who are representing India at the Olympics.”
The CM also presented cheques to family members of Fouaad and Aditi. He announced Rs 5 crore to winners of gold medal, Rs 3 crore for silver medal and Rs 2 crore for bronze. The government is taking several measures to encourage sportspersons and provide best training facilities. International standard training facilities for football, hockey, shooting, swimming and tennis will come up at Devanahalli to train sportspersons for events like Olympics.
Also a sports centre at a cost of Rs 2 crore will be set up to encourage talented sportspersons from rural areas, he said. While Aditi Ashok had participated in the 2016 Olympics, Srihari had secured gold at the 2016 South Asian Championship and had done well in a number of international competitions. On the occasion, Yediyurappa also unveiled the Indian team jersey.