CM Vijay launched Dream Olympics 2036 on 8 October: ₹5 crore for an Olympic gold, ₹1 lakh monthly stipend for elite athletes, and cash awards for Asian Games medallists.
Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay launched Dream Olympics 2036 in Chennai on Thursday, October 8, 2026. It is a ten-year plan to find, train and fund Tamil Nadu athletes so the state can win Olympic medals. He announced it at a ceremony honouring Tamil Nadu's medallists from the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, and the 46th Chess Olympiad (PTI, DT Next).
The plan starts with children as young as eight. It finds talented young athletes at the grassroots and gives them specialised coaching over the long term. The Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu (SDAT) runs it, and it covers para-sports too (PTI).
| Part of the plan | Details |
|---|---|
| Olympic Centres of Excellence | 10 centres across the state |
| Tamil Nadu Olympic City | Planned for Chennai, with sports science and sports medicine centres |
| Tamil Nadu Sports City & SDAT Olympic Illam | Facilities for training and housing athletes |
| Elite athlete support | ₹1 lakh a month and ₹50 lakh a year for Asian Games, Para Asian Games and Commonwealth Games medallists |
| Olympic medal | State award |
|---|---|
| Gold | ₹5 crore |
| Silver | ₹3 crore |
| Bronze | ₹2 crore |
Source: DT Next.
At the same event, the Chief Minister gave cash awards to Tamil Nadu's medallists: ₹75 lakh for each gold, ₹50 lakh for each silver and ₹30 lakh for each bronze. Chess Olympiad winners also received awards. PTI reported a total of ₹6.9 crore.
| Medal | Athletes (as named by PTI) |
|---|---|
| 🥇 Gold — ₹75 lakh each | G. Kamalini (women's cricket), Vithya Ramraj (athletics), Washington Sundar (cricket) |
| 🥈 Silver — ₹50 lakh each | Elavenil Valarivan (shooting), Rajesh Ramesh (athletics), Baranica Elangovan (athletics) |
| 🥉 Bronze — ₹30 lakh each | Joshna Chinappa, Shameena Riyaz, Velavan Senthilkumar, Abhay Singh (squash); Nethra Kumanan, T.K. Vishal (sailing); Abinaya Rajarajan (athletics); Hariharan Amsakarunan (badminton) |
Vithya Ramraj received a total of ₹1.55 crore (PTI). At the Games she also set a national record of 54.75 seconds in the women's 400m hurdles, breaking a mark that had stood for 42 years.
Reports give different counts of Tamil Nadu's medals. PTI says 3 gold, 3 silver and 13 bronze across 11 sports. DT Next says 18 medals: 2 gold, 3 silver and 13 bronze. Tamil Nadu sent 37 athletes.
“I want to express my heartfelt thanks to the State Government.” — Vithya Ramraj, who also thanked SDAT, the Athletics Association and her coach, Nehpal Singh (DT Next)
“Tamil Nadu will certainly achieve and win medals if this support continues.” — Rajesh Ramesh, athletics silver medallist (DT Next)
Silver medallist Baranica Elangovan called the awards “a massive thank you to the TN government” (DT Next).
Women’s cricket gold medallist G. Kamalini said the Chief Minister told her, “We are there for you.” Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa, part of India’s silver-winning team at the 46th Chess Olympiad, was among those honoured (ANI).
Public Works and Sports Development Minister Aadhav Arjuna, Chief Secretary M. Sai Kumar, Youth Welfare and Sports Development Secretary Sandeep Nanduri and SDAT Member Secretary J. Meghanatha Reddy attended. Tayyab Ikram, President of the International Hockey Federation, presented the Chief Minister with a collection of Asian Games memorabilia covering more than 75 years, from the 1951 New Delhi Games to 2026 (PTI).
Sources: PTI via ThePrint; DT Next; Maalaimalar; ANI; The Tribune.
Sports Dream Olympics 2036 Asian Games Day 151