Malayalee businessman announces cash prize for Sindhu, Sakshi
Synopsis
An Indian businessman here has announced a cash prize of ₹ 5 million for India's silver- medalist ace shuttler P V Sindhu and ₹ 2.5 million for wrestler Sakshi Malik for winning the bronze medal at the Rio Olympics 2016.
Mukkattu Sebastian, who is based in UAE for four decades, announced ₹ 5 million for Sindhu, who became the youngest and the first-ever woman to win a silver medal at the Rio Olympics, the Gulf News reported.
Sebastian also announced ₹ 2.5 million for Sakshi Malik, who is the first-ever woman to win a medal in wrestling at the Olympics, the first medal for India.
"These two girls saved the face of India at Rio. I am so proud of them and wanted to honour them with a cash award," Sebastian said.
"I am not a very rich person. But I want to do whatever I can," he said.
Sebastian, who is from Kottayam district in Kerala, also owns Mukkadan Plantations there and Autobahn Car Rentals in Bengaluru. He said he had kept ₹ 10 million as the cash prize for gold medallists and had hoped Sindhu would win gold.
He plans to host a function in Kochi to honour the Olympic medalists who made India proud.