India's javelin champion Neeraj Chopra has been promised cash and gifts totaling more than $2 million by local businesses and governments to celebrate winning the country's first-ever Olympic athletics gold medal.
Chopra, 23, wrote his name into the record books by throwing 87.58 metres in the Tokyo Olympic Stadium on Saturday to send his country into raptures. He is only the second Indian to win an individual Olympic gold after shooter Abhinav Bindra won the 10-metre air rifle event at the 2008 Olympics.
Chopra led India's most successful Olympics ever with a gold, two silver medals and four bronze. He will also lead a cash bonanza for the winning athletes.
The government in his home state of Haryana said it would give a 60 million rupee ($800,000) bonus to Chopra.
Other state governments offered another $400,000 between them and a leading education company promised $270,000.
India had to make its athletes "heroes so that we transform ourselves from a sport-loving nation to a sport-playing nation," said Byju Raveendran, owner of the Byju's education tech company.
The Indian cricket board, the BCCI, and the Chennai Super Kings Indian Premier League team vowed to give $135,000 each and Chopra will also get $100,000 from the Indian Olympic Association.
Other firms offered free air travel, luxury cars and cash gifts that took Chopra's bonus over $2 million and more was expected before he returns to India.
All of the medal winners can expect big cash rewards for their return, with the IOA offering $53,750 for a silver, and $33,500 for a bronze.
India offered some of the most generous official rewards of any country for Olympic medals in Tokyo - though Singapore led the way among known benefits with more than $700,000 for a gold medal. Philippines weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz earned 33 million pesos ($660,000) in cash prizes from her government and several businessmen and a house for winning her country's first Olympic gold medal.
Weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz wins first ever Olympic gold for Philippines
India's cricket board said they would give $168,000 to the men's hockey team for its bronze medal - the first in four decades. And state governments also promised hundreds of thousands to the team.
Wrestler Mirabai Chanu gave India a silver on day one of the competition and said she wanted to eat pizza. A well known chain immediately said it would give her pizza for life.
Chanu has male wrestler Ravi Dahiya for company in getting silver while badminton ace PV Sindhu, wrestler Bajrang Punia, boxer Lovlina Borgohain and the hockey team won bronzes.
Flipside
The medal count and stacks of cash is a dramatic turnaround for Indian sport. India won just two silvers at the 2016 Rio Olympics and athletes have long complained about the lack of resources.
Many former sports heroes fell into poverty after finishing their athletic career and have needed help from foundations such as one run by cricket icon Sunil Gavaskar.
Keshav Chandra Datt, a double Olympic hockey gold winner who recently died aged 95, was one of 19 former sports internationals given monthly cash allowances by Gavaskar's The Champs Foundation.
The former India captain told AFP the 22-year-old foundation provides assistance to "Indian internationals who after retirement are struggling to get on in life."
"We get to know about these athletes through media or word of mouth and then reach out to them while keeping their identity hidden," he said.
