Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], October 6 (ANI): The Karnataka government has announced a series of incentives for sportspersons from the state who participated and won medals at the Asian Games 2026 in Japan, including a significant hike in cash prizes for medal winners and a Rs 5 lakh incentive for all participants.
The Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports announced the decisions following a felicitation ceremony held by Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar, who felicitated the medal winners from the state and congratulated them for bringing laurels to the country and the state, according to a press release.
For the first time, the Government has decided to give cash incentives to all participants. All 20 sportspersons from Karnataka who qualified and participated in the Asian Games 2026 will be given Rs 5.00 lakh each as an incentive. This includes athletes like Yash Palaksha, Supriya Sondigara Basavaraju, Unnathi Ayyappa, M.R. Poovamma, Sneha S.S., Ayush Shetty, Shreyanka R. Patil, Kiran Ranganami, Fouad Mirza, Aditi Ashok, Pranavi S. Aras, Mohit H.S., Tilottama Sen, Akash Mani, Srihari Nataraj and others.
The government has significantly increased the cash awards for medal winners. The prize for a gold medal has been raised from Rs 35 lakh to Rs 1 crore, while the silver medal award has been increased from Rs 25 lakh to Rs 75 lakh. The bronze medal prize has also been hiked from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 50 lakh. The revised amount will be given as per the new order.
Among the eight medal-winning athletes from Karnataka, Shreyanka Patil won gold in the women's cricket team event and will receive Rs 1 crore. M.R. Poovamma won silver in the 4x400 mixed relay and gold in the 4x400 women's relay, earning Rs 1.75 crore. Tilottama Sen won silver in the 50m rifle team event and will receive Rs 75 lakh, while Ayush Shetty and Sneha S.S. will receive Rs 50 lakh each for their bronze medals in badminton and athletics, respectively.
Aditi Ashok won silver in the women's golf team event and will receive Rs 75 lakh. Pranavi S. Aras won silver in the women's golf team event and gold in the individual event, earning Rs 1.75 crore. Mohit H.S., who won gold as part of the men's hockey team, will receive Rs 1 crore. The total cash prize for these eight medalists is Rs 8.00 crore.
Apart from this, these eight medal winners will also get Rs 5 lakh each separately as a participation incentive for qualifying for the Asian Games.
Medal winners of the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games will also be given an opportunity for direct recruitment to Group-B posts. The government will make direct appointments through the Chief Secretary-headed committee.
Asian Games medalists M.R. Poovamma, Sneha S.S., Shreyanka Patil and Commonwealth Games medallist Shilpa K.S. have been included under the Guru Olympics Scheme for 2026-27. They will be given Rs 10.00 lakh each for preparation for the Olympics.
As per the order dated October 3, 2026, the government has ordered 2% horizontal reservation for meritorious sportspersons in direct recruitment for all categories of posts - Group-A, Group-B, Group-C and Group-D - in the state government. (ANI)
Karnataka government hikes cash rewards for Asian Games medal winners
