Kerala govt to provide jobs to Olympians

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Government has decided to provide jobs in gazetted rank to athletes who took part in individual events at the recent London Olympics, Chief Minister Ommen Chandy said on Wednesday.

K T Irfan, Tintu Luka, Renjith Maheswari and Mayookha Johny are the sportspersons who would benefit from the offer. International training facilities would be made available to them and they would be promoted to higher ranks if they made achievements in the next Olympics, he said at a reception accorded to the Olympians at his official residence Cliff House here. The government had earlier given Rs 2 lakh each to all the six Olympians from the state, including Deepu and Sreejesh who participated in group events. Coaches Sunny Thomas and P T Usha would also be given Rs 2 lakh each, he said. The sportspersons arrived at the Cliff House along with their family members. Sports Minister K B Ganesh Kumar and Sports Council president Padmini Thomas were among those present, an official release here said. PTI