Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Jul 26: Weightlifter from Kundapur, Gururaj Poojary, who had made the country as well as Karnataka proud by winning silver medal in Cold Coast Commonwealth Games, finally received cash award of Rs 25 lac promised by the state government.

The issue of undue delay in disbursing to this sportsperson the cash award promised by the state government had recently been highlighted by media that included Daijiworld.

This award had been announced immediately after Poojary brought laurels to Karnataka and his hometown, Kundapur, with his splendid world-level performance. When questioned in the past, the then minister for sports and youth empowerment, Pramod Madhwaraj, had clarified that the award could not be disbursed to Poojary because of the election code of conduct in force.

Gururaj, it is learnt, personally met chief minister, H D Kumaraswamy, on Wednesday, and explained to him the situation. Thereafter, the chief minister handed over a cheque for Rs 25 lac to him. Gururaj plans to use this amount to make preparations for the next Olympics.