Himachal Pradesh Honors 419 Athletes with Him Ratna Awards, Disburses ₹17.85 Crore
SHIMLA: Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu honored 419 national and international-level sportspersons with the Him Ratna-2026 Awards at a state-level ceremony, distributing cash rewards totaling ₹17.85 crore.
Highlights & Cash Awards
Major Recipients: Athlete Sawan Barwal received ₹2.50 crore (plus additional combined totals) for his Asian Games silver medal in the men's marathon.
Athlete Seema Kumari was awarded for her bronze in the 10,000-meter race.
National cricketer Renuka Thakur and women's kabaddi team members (Ritu Negi, Pushpa Rana, Jyoti Thakur, and Bhawna Thakur) received ₹1 crore each for their stellar international achievements.
Coaches & Referees: National-level coaches and international referees will receive an incentive of ₹3 lakh each.
Revised Reward Structure: The state government has drastically hiked cash rewards across major global sporting events, including increasing Olympic gold awards from ₹3 crore to ₹5 crore and Asian Games gold awards from ₹50 lakh to ₹4 crore.
Upcoming 'Khelo Himachal Campaign'
The Chief Minister announced that the Khelo Himachal Campaign will kick off in Dharamshala on 20 November.
Aimed at steering youth away from drug abuse (chitta), the initiative features cricket, volleyball, and kabaddi competitions for youth aged 15 to 30. State-level winning teams will take home ₹21 lakh, followed by ₹15 lakh for second place and ₹10 lakh for third.
He said to to bolster world-class training, a modern indoor stadium is coming up at Nadaun (his home constituency) in Hamirpur district at an estimated cost of ₹170 crore, designed to facilitate around 14 different sports.
