Now, it’s a great time to be an Olympian, particularly a medal winner, and especially if you are Indian. While there may not be as many medal-winning Indians compared to many other countries, there are some benefits that Indian athletes enjoy which other countries, like the host nation France, do not. Our next report explores the price an athlete has to pay for winning a medal, how it differs in various countries, and which nations offer the most rewards for their Olympic medalists. You might be surprised—take a look.
If you won a medal at the Olympics, you are the center of attention for a while. Accolades pour in, but more than that, there are a lot of awards, rewards, and interesting bonuses and incentives that these medal winners receive from various quarters. Let’s first look at countries around the world and which of them provide the biggest cash rewards to their medal winners.
The two countries that top this list are Hong Kong and Singapore. Hong Kong gives their gold medal winners more than $750,000. In fact, they increased the cash rewards by 20% after the Tokyo Olympics. Singapore comes a close second, offering $745,000 for gold winners. Malaysia, Indonesia, and Kazakhstan are also competitive in this regard.
In addition to monetary awards, some countries get a little creative. If you’re a medal winner from Kazakhstan, you’ll be gifted a Porsche and an apartment. Malaysia's Youth and Sports Minister promised foreign-made cars for podium finishers. South Korea has taken it a step further: apart from the cash incentives of $43,000 for gold medalists, some of them receive free drinks and transportation for life.
Then there are the absolutely offbeat rewards and gifts. In Malaysia, a local chain offered free food and tarik (a local milk tea) for life. Japanese table tennis player Kasumi Ishikawa was gifted 100 bags of rice for winning silver in Tokyo. Indonesian badminton gold medalists were gifted five cows, a meatball restaurant, and a house.
what about the tax on these awards and cash prizes?
Here’s the kicker: French athletes, for example, are heavily taxed on the cash awards they receive. They are awarded €80,000 for gold, €40,000 for silver, and €20,000 for bronze. This amount is taxed by the government, leaving French athletes rather miffed.
what about India?
Quite a few Indian medalists have been receiving awards and rewards from the government and other authorities as well. Guess what? The rewards Indian medalists receive from the government are tax-free. For example, Manu Bhaker was rewarded 30 lakh rupees, and Sarabjot Singh received a little over 20 lakh rupees under the Youth and Sports Affairs scheme, and they won’t have to pay tax. Since medals are not categorized as jewelry, they are not taxed either. It seems it’s good to be a medal-winning Indian athlete, isn’t it?
