CHENNAI:
Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday launched the ‘Dream Olympics 2036’ scheme, a flagship initiative aimed at strengthening sports infrastructure and nurturing Olympic medal winners in Tamil Nadu over the next decade.
The scheme was launched at a government event in Chennai in the presence of medal winners from the Asian Games, Para Asian Games and Commonwealth Games.
The umbrella initiative will comprise 10 Olympic Centres of Excellence, Tamil Nadu Olympic City, Tamil Nadu Sports City and SDAT Olympic Illam. As part of the scheme, the government will provide cash incentives of Rs 5 crore for an Olympic gold medal, Rs 3 crore for silver and Rs 2 crore for bronze.
Medallists from the Asian Games, Para Asian Games and Commonwealth Games will also be inducted into the Dream Olympics programme. They will receive a monthly stipend of Rs 1 lakh and annual assistance of Rs 50 lakh, according to the announcement.
During the event, Vijay presented cash incentives to Asian Games medallists and Chess Olympiad winners. Gold medallists received Rs 75 lakh each, silver medallists Rs 50 lakh and bronze medallists Rs 30 lakh each.
Tamil Nadu had sent 37 athletes across 11 disciplines to the Asian Games and returned with 18 medals — two gold, three silver and 13 bronze.
Minister for Public Works and Sports Development Aadhav Arjuna and Chief Secretary M Sai Kumar were among those who participated in the event.
Asian Games medallist Vithya Ramraj thanked the State government, the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, the Athletics Association and her coach Nehpal Singh for their support.
Squash player Rajesh Raman said continued government support would help Tamil Nadu athletes win more medals, while Baranica Elangovan thanked her family, the Chief Minister, Sports Minister and SDAT for their encouragement.