Kerala government announces cash award for athletes who clinched medals in 19th Asian Games

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 18 (ANI): A cash award was announced for athletes from Kerala who participated in the recently concluded 19th Asian Games in Zhangzhou, China and won medals.
The gold medalist will be given Rs 25 lakh, silver medalist Rs 19 lakh and bronze medalist Rs 12.5 lakh. The decision was taken in the cabinet meeting held on Wednesday in Thiruvananthapuram.
Muhammed Ajmal and Muhammed Anas Yahiya were the members of the Indian men's 4x400m relay team that won a gold medal in the 19th Asian Games.
On Wednesday, both runners received a warm welcome from Indian Navy personnel.
"We did very well in our relay competition. We also performed well in Budapest. With our Budapest performance, we were well-motivated for the Asian Games," Muhammed Anas Yahiya told ANI.
Athletes Murali Sreeshankar and Ancy Sojan Edappilly bagged a silver each in the men's and women's Long Jump finals respectively.
Sreeshankar won a silver medal in the Men's Long Jump Final with a best finish of 8.19 meters at the Asian Games.
On her fifth try, Ancy registered her personal best of 6.63m and secured a podium finish. China's Shiqi Xiong also broke through her limits and gave a personal best of 6.73m. The bronze medal was secured by Nga Yan from Hong Kong with a distance of 6.50 which was also her personal best.
PR Sreejesh another player from Kerala was an influential figure at the goalpost for India's men's hockey team that won the gold medal.
Under Fulton's leadership, the Indian team maintained an unbeaten streak throughout the event and secured a 5-1 victory over Japan in the 19th Asian Games.
Shuttler HS Prannoy brought an end to a barren run in the men's singles event by winning a bronze medal in the Asian Games. Prannoy suffered a defeat against China's Li Shifeng 0-2 (16-21, 9-21) in the badminton men's singles semifinal and settled for a bronze medal. (ANI)