CWG gold medallist Asmita Dey's Tripura roots spark debate over UP cash rewards

At the heart of the debate is the friction between modern athletic careers, where sportspersons frequently change bases for training or employment, and strict state-level reward criteria.

The August 2024 UP government order sets three eligibility conditions for the entitlements: The athlete must be a bonafide domicile of Uttar Pradesh, must have studied at a recognised UP college/university for at least two years and must have represented the state in international sporting events.

Debate over Dey's roots

In practice, applying these criteria can be complicated when athletes have changed domicile, joined state services or represented different states at different times. The current controversy involves Asmita Dey, a trailblazing judoka from Tripura. Because her permanent roots are in Tripura, questions arose about whether she qualifies under UP’s August 2024 order for state rewards.

As per the provisions, Asmita is entitled to ₹1.5 crore for her historic gold and fulfills at least one criterion of the GO, which states that an athlete must have represented Uttar Pradesh in international sporting events.

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According to the UP Judo Association’s secretary, Munawar Anzar, the judoka, who has been serving as a sub-inspector in UP Police since 2023, has been a regular face of UP in national and international events. First she won a gold medal for UP in the Senior National Judo Championship at Imphal, Manipur, followed by a gold medal in the 38th National Games at Dehradun, Uttarakhand in February 2025 after winning another gold medal in the Casablanca African Open Championship in Casablanca, Morocco, in January 2025.

UP’s other athlete Gulveer Singh, who comes from Aligarh and won historical double medals — a silver and a bronze in the 10,000m and 5,000m events at Glasgow — will also receive ₹1.25 crore, including ₹75 lakh for the silver medal and ₹50 lakh for the bronze medal. The other seven athletes from UP who did not reach the podium in different events will also receive ₹5 lakh each as a consolation.

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UP sports secretary weighs in

Uttar Pradesh’s sports secretary, Suhas LY on Tuesday stated: “All eligible athletes will be getting all the benefits. Will ask officials concerned to take a final call on this as per the provision.”

In fact, Suhas LY’s own case illustrates how domicile and service history can alter benefit eligibility. Although he hails from Samoga in Karnataka, Suhas, an IAS officer, who has been part of the UP cadre since 2003, has represented UP in sports competitions and reportedly had his address changed; he has received significant state rewards in the past for Paralympic silver medals.

Jitu Rai from Nepal, who later became a naturalised Indian citizen after joining the Lucknow-based 11 Gorkha Rifles, also received major cash rewards for his wins, including ₹1 crore from the UP government for his 2014 Asian Games gold medal in shooting.

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UP’s director (sports) RP Singh said he will make recommendations according to government policy, indicating that departmental review is underway. “We are in the process of finalising the list of all winners and participants at the CWG 2026 in Glasgow,” he said on Tuesday.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath gave away ₹42 crore in cash awards at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on August 19, 2021, honouring India’s Tokyo Olympics medal winners and state participants, including Meera Bai Chanu and PV Sindhu, for their success.

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