Athletes who won medals in the Paris Olympic Games received cheques and mementos from Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and others. The felicitation event took place on Monday at Sahyadri Guest House, celebrating the remarkable achievements of Maharashtra’s Olympic medalists. Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik and Additional Chief Secretary of Sports Department OP Gupta were present to honor the athletes.
Commissioner of the Directorate of Sports and Youth Services Suraj Mandhare also attended the ceremony, showing support for the medalists. General Secretary of the Maharashtra Olympic Association Namdev Shirgaonkar joined the dignitaries in congratulating the athletes for their success. Sachin Khilari won a silver medal in the shot put sub-category at the Paralympic Games.
Coaches Sachin Khilari and Swapnil Kusale were honoured. In the wake of the state government’s recent hike in prize money for athletes and coaches who have excelled at the international level, Swapnil Kusale, who won a bronze medal in shooting at the Paris Olympics, got INR 2 crore. His Deepali Deshpande got INR 20 lakh. Sachin Khilari was honoured with INR 3 crore and his coach Arvind Chavan with a cheque of Rs 30 lakh and a medal.
Chess stars felicitated by Maharashtra Government
Teams from 193 and 181 countries participated in the men’s and women’s divisions of the 45th Chess Olympiad. It was held from September 10 to 23, 2024, in Budapest, Hungary. In this tournament, the Indian team achieved a historic performance by winning the gold medal. State chess players Vidit Gujarathi and Divya Deshmukh were included in this team. Both these athletes were honored by the state government with a cash prize of INR 1 crore each.
Their mentors Sankalp Gupta and Abhijit Kunte respectively with Rs.10 lakh each and a medal. As Vidit Gujarathi was abroad for the competition, his father Dr Santosh Gujarathi accepted the honor on his behalf and Abhijit Kunte was accepted by his father Sandeep Gupta on behalf of his wife Meghna Kunte and Sankalp Gupta.
