Edtech major Byju’s on Sunday announced a Rs 2 crore cash reward for Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra. The company, which is backed by marquee investors like Tiger Global and General Atlantic, will also offer Rs 1 crore each to Mirabai Chanu, Ravi Kumar Dahiya, Lovlina Borgohain, P V Sindhu and Bajrang Punia.

“The accomplishments and the stellar achievement of India’s sports heroes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics have been nothing but inspirational, despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 lockdown in 2020-21,” according to a statement. Not only have each of these athletes made the country proud but have also ignited hope and aspiration that India can create many more Olympic champions in the future, it added.

India’s star athlete Neeraj Chopra created history on Saturday bringing home the country’s first-ever gold medal in javelin throw in Tokyo Olympics 2020. Chopra produced a second-round throw of 87.58 metres in the finals at the Tokyo Games to claim the country’s first track-and-field medal and become only the second Indian to win an individual gold in the Olympics.

With this, India registered its best-ever medal haul at an Olympics with seven medals, including two silver and four bronze. In this Tokyo 2020, Bajrang Punia (Bronze), Mirabai Chanu (silver), P V Sindhu (bronze), Lovlina Borgohain (bronze), men’s hockey team (bronze), and Ravi Kumar Dahiya (silver) have also won medals.

“Sports has a critical role to play in nation-building and it’s time that we celebrate our Olympic heroes, not just once in four years, but every single day,” Byju’s founder and CEO Byju Raveendran said. They deserve all the adoration they get, and after this historic achievement at the Tokyo 2020, Byju’s is rewarding the players for their efforts, sacrifices and achievement, he added.

“We hope that this small gesture will help them in their journey going forward to win more laurels for the country and also encourage many more youngsters to dream big,” Raveendran said. India has a huge potential to produce many more sporting champions and it is important to celebrate successes like this and make them heroes so that the country can transform from a sports-loving nation to a sports-playing nation, he added.

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