Why the same Olympic medal weighs differently?

Manipur gave Rs 1 crore to weightlifter Merabai Chanu for winning silver in Tokyo, while wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya, who also won silver in Tokyo, will get Rs 4 crore from his native state Haryana.    

By Saurabh Duggal

Indian men’s hockey team ended the 41-year-old medal drought by clinching bronze at the Tokyo Olympics. The Indian team defeated Germany 5-4 for the history medal.

The Tokyo-bound team comprises players from different states, including Punjab, Haryana, Odisha, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur and Madhya Pradesh.

Each of the 18-member squad gave their best during the Tokyo Olympics to bring glory for the country. But when it comes to cash rewards, the same Olympic medal weighs differently.

The state government of the respective players has different cash award policies and offers cash incentives accordingly.

The cash award from the union sports ministry is the same for each of the medalists.  

Punjab contributes the maximum number of players in the current Olympic squad. Out of 18, 10, including skipper Manpreet Singh, are from the bordering state. After the historic medal, Punjab’s chief minister Captain Amrinder Singh announced a cash award of Rs 1 crore for each of the bronze-medal winning players hailing from the state.

Uttar Pradesh has one player – Lalit Upadhyay – in the squad and the state government also announced a cash award of Rs 1 crore for Upadhyay.

Haryana has two players, Sumit and Surinder Kumar, in the Tokyo-bound squad, and as per the state government’s sports policy, both the players will get Rs 2.5 crore each.  

The Manipur government gave a cash award of Rs 1 crore for the Tokyo silver medalist weightlifter Mirabai Chanu. Wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya, who also won the silver medal in Tokyo on Thursday, will get a cash award of Rs 4 crore. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar made an announcement of Rs 4 crore for Dahiya’s silver medal winning feat in Tokyo.  
As per the Assam Sports Integrated Policy, boxer Lovlina Borgohai will get a cash award of Rs 50 lakh for the bronze medal in Tokyo.