Badminton association hands cash awards to CWG medallists

BAI President Himanta Biswa Sarma and chief guest, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President Narinder Batra, presented all the cheques at a grand ceremony here, attended by the BAI top brass, chief coach Pullela Gopi Chand and the entire team, including the support staff.

The team which made history by winning India's first ever gold medal in the mixed team event was presented with a cheque for Rs 50 lakh (Rs 5 lakh to each of the 10 players).

The BAI awarded Rs 20 lakh to Saina Nehwal for winning the gold medal in the individual event, while P.V. Sindhu -- who lost to her in the final -- was given Rs 10 lakh. Kidambi Srikanth was also awarded Rs 10 lakh for winning the silver medal in men's singles.

The young men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who etched their name in history books by becoming the first ever men's doubles team from India to win a medal in the CWG, were awarded Rs 15 lakh (Rs 7.5 lakh each).

The women's doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy were also given Rs 7.5 lakh (Rs 3.75 lac each) for their bronze medal winning feat.

The entire coaching staff was also honoured for their contribution towards the historic achievement. Chief national coach Pullela Gopichand was felicitated with Rs 10 lakh while doubles foreign coach Tan Kim Her was given Rs 3 lakh. Assistant coach Siyadath Ullah Siddiqui was given Rs 1.5 lakh while the trio of KIran, Johnson and Gayatri (all physios) were awarded Rs 1 lakh each.

Congratulating the shuttlers, after giving away the awards, BAI President Sarma said: "It gives me immense pleasure to be here to celebrate the heroics of our players in the Commonwealth Games. They have not only created history but have once again underlined India's reputation as one of the top performers globally." IANS