West Bengal hikes Olympic gold medal reward to ₹8 crore under new sports policy

The newly formed West Bengal government has reportedly announced a sweeping revision of its sports reward policy, sharply increasing cash incentives for athletes winning medals at major international events, including the Olympics, Asian Games, World Championships and Commonwealth Games.

As per reports, State Sports Minister Nisith Pramanik said Olympic gold medallists from West Bengal would now receive ₹8 crore under the revised policy, replacing the earlier reward amount of ₹25 lakh.

According to the new structure, Olympic silver medallists will reportedly receive ₹6 crore, while bronze medal winners will be awarded ₹4 crore.

The revised policy also includes enhanced rewards for medal winners at the Asian Games, with gold medallists set to receive ₹5 crore, silver medallists ₹4 crore and bronze winners ₹2 crore.

Athletes winning medals at World Championships will receive ₹2 crore for gold, ₹1.5 crore for silver and ₹1 crore for bronze medals.

Similarly, medal winners at the Commonwealth Games will also receive significantly higher incentives. Gold medallists will be awarded ₹1.5 crore, silver winners ₹75 lakh and bronze medallists ₹50 lakh.

The state government said the revised reward structure was aimed at motivating athletes from West Bengal to compete at the highest international level and pursue sporting excellence with greater confidence.

Pramanik also announced that the new Sports Governance Act would be implemented immediately.

He said the government was additionally working on employment opportunities for sportspersons, development of modern sports infrastructure and strengthening long-term athlete support systems in the state.

The announcement comes shortly after a major political shift in West Bengal, where the Bharatiya Janata Party secured a decisive victory in the Assembly elections earlier this year, winning 207 out of 294 seats, while the All India Trinamool Congress was reduced to 80 seats.