Indian athletes returning from the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya are eligible for cash rewards from multiple sources, with the final amount varying according to their medal, event, state and any additional incentives announced by sporting bodies or private organisations.
Under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports’ revised cash-award scheme, an Indian athlete winning an individual gold medal is eligible for ₹30 lakh, while the corresponding awards for silver and bronze are ₹20 lakh and ₹10 lakh, respectively. These are the Union government’s prescribed awards and are separate from state-level incentives.
The calculation is different for team events. The scheme has separate provisions based on team size, with the resulting award distributed among eligible team members. The rules also provide for incentives for multiple medals at the Asian Games, subject to the scheme’s conditions.
The biggest additional rewards have come from state governments. Uttar Pradesh, for example, announced ₹3 crore each for its Asian Games gold medallists Deepti Sharma, Arjun Deshwal, Prachi Chaudhary, Vipraj Nigam and Rajkumar Pal.
Silver medallists will receive ₹1.5 crore and bronze medallists ₹75 lakh under the announced package. , who won two silvers and a bronze at the Asian Games, is set to receive ₹5 crore for his Asian Games and Commonwealth Games medal haul.
Himachal Pradesh announced a total of ₹5.33 crore for its Asian Games medallists. Marathon silver medallist Sawan Barwal will receive ₹2.5 crore, while women’s 10,000m bronze medallist Seema Kumari has been awarded ₹1.5 crore.
The state’s four members of India’s gold-winning women’s kabaddi team — Pushpa Rana, Ritu Negi, Jyoti Thakur and Bhavna Thakur — will receive ₹33.33 lakh each.
Tamil Nadu has also revised its incentives. Gold medallists are eligible for ₹75 lakh, silver medallists ₹50 lakh and bronze medallists ₹30 lakh. , who won three medals, is set to receive ₹75 lakh, while several other medallists have been announced for ₹30 lakh or ₹50 lakh awards depending on their results.
Other announced state rewards include ₹50 lakh for Kerala’s gold medallists, ₹30 lakh for silver and ₹20 lakh for bronze; ₹25 lakh for gold, ₹20 lakh for silver and ₹15 lakh for bronze in Manipur; and ₹35 lakh for a Karnataka gold medallist under the state’s applicable reward structure.
Additional money has also been announced outside government schemes. The Indian Golf Premier League (IGPL) announced ₹1 crore for after her historic individual golf gold. Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar, who won team-event silver alongside Urs, will receive ₹25 lakh each from IGPL.
Sporting bodies have also announced rewards. Hockey India will pay ₹11 lakh to each player of India’s gold-winning women’s hockey team, with ₹5.5 lakh for each support-staff member. The men’s hockey team has also been awarded ₹11 lakh, with ₹5.5 lakh for support staff.
