CHENNAI: The ruling AIADMK Tuesday announced total cash incentive of Rs 25 lakh to two state-based athletes including Gomathi Marimuthu for winning medals in Asian Athletics Championship held at Qatar recently.
Top leaders of the party, O Panneerselvam and Edapaddi K Palaniswami, lauded Marimuthu and Arokia Rajiv for bagging gold and silver in the Women's 800 m race and 4x400m mixed relay, respectively.
They announced an incentive of Rs 15 lakh to Gomathi. Panneerselvam, the AIADMK Coordinator and Joint Coordinator Palaniswami recalled that late party supremo and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had always promoted sports in the state by providing adequate facilities to sportspersons to ensure they brought laurels.
"In line with that, we wish to announce that a sum of Rs 15 lakh will be provided to Gomathi Marimuthu who won gold and Rs 10 lakh to Arokia Rajiv, on behalf of the AIADMK," the two leaders said in a party statement.
Praising the two athletes for their feat, the AIADMK leaders wished the two athletes achieved more records and brought laurels to the country and Tamil Nadu.
Earlier, the DMK had also announced a cash incentive of Rs 15 lakh to Gomathi and Rs five lakh to Rajiv.
The Congress' state unit had provided Rs five lakh to her. The 30-year-old unheralded Gomathi had clocked a personal best time of 2 minute 02.70 seconds in the women's 800m race held in Doha, Qatar last week.
In the 4x400m mixed relay team, which was introduced for the first time in this championship, the Indian quartet of Mohammed Anas, M R Poovamma, V K Vismaya and Rajiv had clocked 3:16.47 to finish second.