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New Delhi: It has been raining rewards for our Olympic medallists P V Sindhu and Sakshi Malik, who won silver and bronze medals respectively, in the recently-concluded Olympic Games 2016.
Sindhu has become the darling of the divided states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, with both trying to generously bestow her with rewards. While the TRS government in Telangana has given her Rs 5-crore cash award and a residential plot worth a few crores in Hyderabad, the Andhra government led by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, has presented her with a cash award worth Rs 3 crore. He is also likely to allot her a plot in either Vijayawada, or the new capital Amaravati.
The AAP government in Delhi too, has announced a cash reward of Rs 2 crore. The public sector oil company Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) wants to give Sindhu a cash reward of Rs 75 lakh. The state governments of Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, the Sports Ministry and the Badminton Association of India (BAI) have also announced cash rewards of Rs 50 lakh each to the badminton stalwart. Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has announced a cash reward of Rs 30 lakh and the All India Football Association wants to give her a token amount of Rs five lakh.
Impressed by her stellar performance, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan wants to extend his gratitude by giving Sindhu a cash reward of Rs 1.01 lakh. State governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, too, wish to cosset her with awards.
Wrestler Sakshi Malik, who got the country its first medal this season, has also been honoured generously.
While her home state Haryana has announed a cash reward of Rs. 2.5 crore, the Delhi government is giving her another one crore. Her employer — Railways Ministry — is giving her Rs 60 lakh and the Sports Ministry is giving her an additional Rs 30 lakh. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has announced a cash prize of Rs 20 lakh for Malik.
The All India Football Federation has decided to write a cheque worth Rs 5 lakh for the ace wrestler. Salman Khan, too, wishes to reward her with a cash prize worth Rs 1.01 lakh. With money from other state governments like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and the like pouring in, Malik is also likely to get a few more crores before the euphoria calms.
