TN CM honours Asian Para Games medallists, launches sports welfare scheme

CHENNAI: (Oct 30) In a major boost to para-sports, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday handed over cash incentive cheques totalling Rs 6.85 crore to nine exceptional para-athletes from Tamil Nadu who brought laurels to the nation at the 5th Asian Para Games held in Japan.

Vijay presented championship trophies to the top three districts of the Chief Minister’s Trophy 2026 and also officially launched the Sportsmen Development Allowance Scheme at the valedictory ceremony at Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium here.

Thulasimathi Murugesan, who won a gold and 2 silver medals in the Para-Badminton was presented a cheque for Rs 1.75 crore, Naveen Sivakumar – Para-Badminton who won 1 gold and 1 bronze received Rs 1.05 crore, while Solairaj Dharmaraj Para-Athletics received Rs 75 lakh, Nithya Sree Rs 80 lakh, Manisha Ramadass and J D Madan Rs 60 lakh each, Sivarajan Solaimalai and Kasthuri Rajamani Rs 50 lakh each, and Baby Sahana was provided Rs 30 lakh by the chief minister on the occasion.