 "Here's how much prize money athletes get for winning a medal at Olympics. Reuters")
The Olympics – the biggest and grandest sporting event in the world – is not only an opportunity for Indian athletes to make the country proud at the biggest level but also to change their financial fortunes for good. The story is the same for the athletes from smaller nations of lesser developed economies.
Just to give you an example. The Haryana government announced a cash reward of Rs 6 crore (USD 7,16,884 in today’s value) for Neeraj Chopra after he won India’s first Olympic gold medal in athletics at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games. In comparison, The USA athletes were paid a little over Rs 31,38,618 in today’s value ($37,500) for every gold medal won at Tokyo 2020.
Haryana was not the only Indian state to reward its athletes generously for winning a medal at the Tokyo Games. Most of the Indian states had announced prize money for athletes ahead of the Games.
A look at what Indian athletes earned after winning medals Tokyo Olympics:
Neeraj Chopra (Gold in javelin throw), Haryana: Rs 6 crore
Mirabai Chanu (Silver in weightlifting), Manipur: Rs 1 crore
Ravi Kumar Dahiya (Silver in wrestling), Haryana: Rs 4 crore
PV Sindhu (Bronze in badminton), Telangana: Rs 30 lakh
Lovlina Borgohain (Bronze in boxing), Assam: Rs 1 crore
Bajrang Punia (Bronze in wrestling), Haryana: Rs 25 lakh
The Indian men’s hockey team included players from different states and they were rewarded as per their respective state policy.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsBesides the prize money rewards from the state government, the Indian government awarded Rs 75 lakh to the gold medal winner, Rs 50 lakh to the silver medal winner, and Rs 30 lakh to the bronze medal winner after the Tokyo Olympics which took place a year late in 2021 due to COVID pandemic.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) awarded Rs 75 lakh to the gold medal winner, Rs 40 lakh to the silver medal winner, and Rs 25 lakh to the bronze medal winner.
The BCCI also awarded Rs 1 crore to Neeraj, Rs 50 lakh to silver medal winners, and Rs 25 lakh to bronze medal winners.
Ed-tech firm BYJU’S offered Rs 2 crore to Neeraj and Rs 1 crore to all other medal winners.
There were cash rewards from other private entities as well, while some of the athletes were offered jobs by their state governments.
The cash reward that Indian athletes earned after Tokyo 2020 is a lot more than what the biggest medal winners offered to their athletes.
Here’s a look at reward money medallists from 12 countries earned after Tokyo Olympics (data from CNBC):
| Countries | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore | $737,000 | $369,000 | $184,000 |
| Kazakhstan | $250,000 | $150,000 | $75,000 |
| Malaysia | $236,000 | $71,000 | $24,000 |
| Italy | $213,000 | $107,000 | $71,000 |
| The Philippines | $200,000 | $99,000 | $40,000 |
| Hungary | $168,000 | $126,000 | $96,000 |
| Brazil | $49,000 | $29,000 | $20,000 |
| Japan | $45,000 | $18,000 | $9,000 |
| USA | $37,500 | $22,500 | $15,000 |
| South Africa | $37,000 | $19,000 | $7,000 |
| Canada | $16,000 | $12,000 | $8,000 |
| Australia | $15,000 | $11,000 | $7,000 |
Why advanced nations pay less money to their athletes?
There’s a major reason athletes from countries like the USA, Canada, Great Britain, and Germany among others don’t get as much prize money reward as compared to small nations like Singapore or lesser-developed economies like India. The sportspersons in advanced economies can earn more throughout their career and make better use of their talent as the sporting ecosystem in these countries is driven by private investments.
In India and similar countries, Olympic sports are funded by central and state governments.
What are the other sources of money for athletes?
Besides prize money at the Olympics, athletes also make money from winning medals at the continental level and national tournaments. The top-performing athletes also receive grants from their respective federations and draw salaries from government/private jobs.
Popular athletes also earn money from sponsorship deals.
How much money Indian or overseas athletes can make at the Paris Olympics?
Only a few world sporting bodies have announced cash rewards for medal winners at the Paris Olympics. The World Athletics will offer a USD 50,000 (Rs 42 lakh) cash reward to every gold medal winner in track and field events. The International Boxing Association has announced a USD 100,000 (Rs 84 lakh) cash reward for gold medallists across events.
The World Athletics is the first federation to award prize money at the Olympic Games, but cash rewards for silver and bronze medal winners will be given from the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
The other sporting federations have not announced any prize money for their upcoming medal winners. However, the winners will mostly receive the reward from their respective countries as was the case after Tokyo 2020.
What about Indian athletes?
As far as Indian athletes are concerned, the state governments have not announced anything yet but the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has hiked the reward. It will give a cash award of Rs 1 crore to individual gold medal winners. The silver medal winner will get Rs 75 lakh and the bronze medal winner will get Rs 50 lakh. This will be over and above what the Indian government awards.
What do medal winners win as a prize from orgnisers?
The medal winners are only handed a bouquet and their medals. They are not given cash prizes by the organisers.