After a successful outing at the 18th Asian Games, the Indian athletes returned home amidst tremendous cheer, both from the administration and their respective families.
India clinched a record of 69 medals in this year’s Asian Games.
The government on Tuesday, 4 September, felicitated the medal winners with cash awards after the country registered its best-ever medal haul in the history of the continental mega sporting event.
While individual gold medal winners were given away Rs 40 lakh, the silver and bronze winners took home Rs 20 and Rs 10 lakh each.
The athletes also met with PM Modi in his residence on Wednesday, 5 September, for a separate felicitation ceremony.
Union Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore promised "surgical" precision in distribution of funds to athletes preparing for the 2020 Olympic Games, asserting that centralisation of the process has made bureaucratic hurdles a thing of past.
It was also a successful outing at the Asian Games for the army, who performed well at rowing and equestrian.
The army contributed 11 out of the 69 medals for the country, but chief of Indian Army, General Bipin Rawat, termed it as “only the trailer” adding that “the full length movie will be released during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.”
It was heartbreak for Kabaddi fans as India, for the first time in the history of Asian Games, returned without a gold. However, the teams managed to clinch silver and bronze, in women’s and men’s events respectively.
Indian athletes were visibly super-happy at the ceremony and deservedly so after they returned with 19 of the total 69 medals at the Asian Games.
From left, Bajrang Punia, Jinson Johnson, Hima Das, Arpinder Singh, Pincky Balhara, Malaprabha Jadhav, Aman Saini and Rajat Chauhan were all present in Delhi on Tuesday evening to be felicitated by the government.
While it was a starry night in Delhi on Tuesday, athletes also received a big welcome at their respective places.
Archer Madhumita Kumari was welcomed in a traditional santhal way at Birsa Munda airport, in Ranchi on Saturday, 1 September, 2018.
Madhumita won Silver in women’s compound archery at the 18th Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta.
Silver Medallist in equestrian Major Ashish Malik was welcomed by his family in Rohtak on Saturday, 1 September.
It was a successful outing for Indian ace paddler Achanta Sharat Kamal who clinched silver in men’s doubles and mixed doubles event.
(With inputs from PTI.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)