Archive · 13 Aug 2026
Kerala announces enhanced cash awards for international medal-winning athletes
The government of Kerala, a state in India, decided to give money prizes to sportspersons who won medals at big international competitions.
This is a way of celebrating and thanking them for their hard work.
The government felt the old prize amounts were too small, so it made them bigger.
Long jumper M Sreeshankar and para-athlete Mohammed Basil will each get 20 lakh rupees.
Chess player Divi Bijesh and runner Sandra Mol Sabu will also get 20 lakh rupees each.
Swimmer Sajan Prakash and relay runner Ansa Babu will get 5 lakh rupees each.
The coaches who trained the athletes will get 2 lakh rupees each.
The government is also paying old, unpaid prizes owed since 2019 and has set aside 1.5 crore rupees for the first phase.
Kerala government announced enhanced cash awards for Malayalee athletes who won medals at international competitions.
Long jumper M Sreeshankar and para-athlete Mohammed Basil will each receive Rs 20 lakh for their Commonwealth Games silver medals.
Chess champion Divi Bijesh and relay gold medallist Sandra Mol Sabu will also receive Rs 20 lakh each.
Swimmer Sajan Prakash and relay finalist Ansa Babu will get Rs 5 lakh each, while coaches will receive Rs 2 lakh each.
The government has allocated Rs 1.5 crore to clear pending cash awards for athletes dating back to 2019.
- Who
- Kerala government, with Sports, Youth Affairs and Registration Minister O J Janeesh, honouring athletes M Sreeshankar, Mohammed Basil, Divi Bijesh, Sandra Mol Sabu, Sajan Prakash and Ansa Babu.
- What
- Announced enhanced cash awards for Malayalee athletes who won medals and achieved notable performances at international competitions.
- When
- Announced on Thursday, August 13.
- Where
- Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
- Why
- To honour medal-winning athletes, as existing cash award norms were deemed inadequate, and to clear pending awards since 2019.
- Announcing body
- Kerala Cabinet
- Minister
- O J Janeesh, Sports, Youth Affairs and Registration Minister
- M Sreeshankar award
- Rs 20 lakh (long jump silver, Commonwealth Games)
- Mohammed Basil award
- Rs 20 lakh (men's 100m silver, para-athlete)
- Divi Bijesh award
- Rs 20 lakh (under-12 World Chess Championship winner)
- Sandra Mol Sabu award
- Rs 20 lakh (mixed relay gold, Under-23 Asian Games)
- Sajan Prakash and Ansa Babu
- Rs 5 lakh each
- Coaches' award
- Rs 2 lakh each
- Arrears allocation
- Rs 1.5 crore in first phase (awards pending since 2019)