Wearing his characteristic black blazer over a crisp white shirt and blue trousers, Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay arrived at the felicitation ceremony at Hotel Leela Palace for the State’s Asian Games medallists and members of the Indian chess teams that won medals at the Samarkand Chess Olympiad on Thursday evening, and soon found himself surrounded by people eager to take selfies with him.

The requests continued right up to the moment he left the venue. Such was the enthusiasm that even the families of the sportspersons, who came on stage to receive the awards, made sure they had their moment with the actor-turned-Chief Minister and posed for selfies with him.

A total of ₹7.65 crore in enhanced incentives was announced for the State’s Asian Games medal winners. The gold, silver, and bronze medallists received ₹75 lakh, ₹50 lakh and ₹30 lakh respectively, an increase from the earlier ₹50 lakh, ₹30 lakh, and ₹20 lakh respectively.

The men’s team, which won silver, received ₹15 lakh each, while the women’s team, which won bronze, received ₹10 lakh each. The awards were presented by Mr. Vijay and Minister for Public Works and Sports Development Aadhav Arjuna.

Mr. Arjuna highlighted the need to build more sporting venues, pointing out that many of the existing facilities were old. “The stadiums that were built during Jayalalithaa’s time are very old. We need good infrastructure and rehabilitation centres. There is no centre for physically challenged sportspersons. Our priority is to build a sound ecosystem for sportspersons. With that in mind, we have increased the sports budget. There will be sports events for transgender athletes, and we plan to build sports hostels in all 38 districts. Our mission is to ensure Tamil Nadu wins medals at the 2028 Los Angeles and 2036 Olympics,” he said.

The Asian Games medallists who spoke thanked the State Government for its support.

T.K. Vishal, who won silver in the mixed 4x400m relay and bronze in the men’s 4x400m relay, said he was happy to hear that sports hostels would have air-conditioning. “It is a basic need. During my time at the sports hostels, I slept without AC. It affects our recovery,” he said.

Baranica Elangovan, who won bronze in the women’s pole vault at the Games, thanked the government for providing new pole vaults. “It is with those pole vaults that I won a medal,” she said.