Centre steps in with jobs, Kerala govt boosts by awarding cash rewards for sporting personalities
Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 14 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) Four Malayali sportspersons have received the Centre’s recognition in the form of government jobs, with the Mumbai Income Tax Department appointing them under the sports quota, while Kerala steps up its financial rewards for sporting excellence.
Sandra Mol Sabu, Jilna M.V., Shyam Prasad U. and Alphonsia M. received their appointment orders from Alok Kumar, Mumbai Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, at an event at Aaykar Bhavan.
The four have excelled in athletics, football and badminton.
Sandra, who won gold in the 4x400m mixed relay and women’s 4x400m relay at the 2026 Asian U-23 Athletics Championships in China, has been appointed as a Multi-Tasking Staff member.
She had earlier won gold and silver at the 2024 Asian U-20 Athletics Championships in Dubai.
Alphonsia, who represented Kerala in the Senior Women’s National Football Championship in the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons, has also been appointed as Multi-Tasking Staff.
Jilna, who won silver in the 4x100m relay at the South Asian Senior Athletics Championships in Ranchi and the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Chennai in 2025, has been appointed as a Tax Assistant.
Badminton player Shyam Prasad has also been appointed as a Tax Assistant.
He won the men’s doubles title at the 2023 APACS Kazakhstan International Series and finished third in the men’s doubles at the 2025 South Zone Inter-State Badminton Championships.
The appointments followed a recruitment drive for 97 sports-quota vacancies notified in January.
The department received 3,595 applications from different sporting disciplines before selecting 97 candidates on merit and eligibility.
The Centre’s employment based recognition comes alongside Kerala’s decision to substantially enhance its cash rewards for medal winners.
The State Cabinet on Thursday approved Rs 20 lakh each for Commonwealth Games long-jump silver medalist Sreeshankar Murali and para-athlete Muhammed Basil, who won silver in the men’s 100m.
The state will also give Rs 20 lakh each to Divi Bijesh, the under-12 World Chess champion, and Sandra Mol Sabu, who is now among those receiving the Central government appointment.
Commonwealth Games finalists Sajan Prakash and Ansa Babu will receive Rs 5 lakh each, while the coaches of Sreeshankar and Basil will get Rs 2 lakh each.
State Sports Minister O.J.Janeesh on Thursday said that its existing prize money structure Rs 5 lakh for gold, Rs 3 lakh for silver and Rs 1 lakh for bronze was inadequate and has moved to enhance the rewards.
At the same time, prize money for athletes who won medals in national and international competitions has remained pending since 2019.
The state government has sanctioned Rs 1.5 crore as the first instalment towards clearing the arrears.
For Kerala’s athletes, therefore, recognition is coming in two forms, the Centre is opening the door to a government career, while the state is putting more money behind sporting achievement.
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