PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has announced cash awards for medallists in various sports categories, and a government job too for gold medallists.
“Our special athletes have made us all proud with their medals. They have shown great courage, determination, and skill in the Olympic Games. I am delighted to announce that we will reward each of them with a cash prize of Rs 5 lakhs for gold, Rs 3 lakhs for silver, and Rs 1 lakh for bronze. The prize money will be given to them within two months. Moreover, we will offer them a chance to work in the government sector in the future. They deserve this recognition and support,” Sawant said while addressing a special felicitation function to honour 15 athletes and eight coaches for their spectacular performance in the 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games, Berlin held from June 17-25.
Social Welfare Minister Subhash Phal Desai and Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Guruprasad Pawaskar stayed with the athletes throughout the games.
“These athletes who have brought laurels to Goa, worked very hard to reach this pinnacle of success. But, with or without a medal, each of you who has participated in the Special Olympics World Summer Games is indeed special and a winner in your own right. Our Government is working on implementing policies that will benefit persons with disabilities and this will be in the right direction to empower PwD and to motivate them to do better in various spheres of their life,” Desai, also present at the function, said.
The National Sports Director of Special Olympics Bharat, Victor Vaz claimed that this year's medal tally has been the best in Goa’s history with nine gold medals, five silver and five bronze.
“With this performance, Goa has now crossed the three-figure medal mark with a tally of 102 medals in the 8 editions of the games that we participated so far… It took months of accurate planning,” he added.
