Three weeks after five Malayalis secured medals at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the Kerala government announced cash prizes for the winners.

The cabinet that met Wednesday announced Rs 20 lakh for gold winners and Rs 10 lakh for silver medallists.

Among the Malayalis at the Games, triple jumper Eldhose Paul was the sole gold medallist.

Another triple jumper, Abdulla Aboobacker, long jumper M Sreeshankar, hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and badminton player Treesa Jolly secured silver medals.

Treesa Jolly had also secured a bronze in women's doubles in addition to the silver from the team event.

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Sreejesh, who was part of the Indian men's hockey team that lost in the final to Australia, was the last of the Malayalis to secure a medal, with his podium finish coming on August 8.

The state government was criticised for its delay in announcing cash prizes in the past as well.

After the Tokyo Olympics last August, the LDF government headed by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had not announced a cash prize for Sreejesh, the lone Malayali winner, until a week later.

Sreejesh was given a cash reward of Rs 2 crore for his contribution to India's bronze medal win in the Tokyo Olympics.

 

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No cash for bronze medallist?
A press release from the Chief Minister's Office announcing the cabinet decision does not mention cash prizes for bronze medallists.

Badminton player Treesa Jolly had secured a bronze in the commonwealth games.

Meanwhile, the cabinet decided to set aside four vacancies from the 50 sports quota seats for Eldhose Paul, Abdulla Aboobacker, M Sreeshankar and Treesa Jolly.

 

Cash prizes for chess champs
The cabinet also announced cash prizes for the two Malayalis who participated in the Chess Olympiad held in Chennai between July 28 and August 9.

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Thrissur lad, GM Nihal Sarin, who was part of the bronze winning India B team has been awarded a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh.

Thiruvananthapuram-based GM SL Narayanan, whose India A missed out on the podium narrowly, will receive Rs 5 lakh.

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