Indian cricketer Rinku Singh is set to be appointed as the Regional Sports Officer (RSO) by the Uttar Pradesh government. India Today has learned that the state government is all set to reward Rinka for his exceptional performances and dedication to the Indian team that won the 2026 T20 World Cup under Suryakumar Yadav.
Rinku had a hard time during the tournament due to his father’s illness and eventual death. The cricketer shuttled between the Indian team and Greater Noida, where his father was undergoing treatment for stage IV cancer.
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The Uttar Pradesh government has announced a major sportsmen’s incentive package under which players who have excelled at the international and national levels will be honored with government posts, cash prizes and prestigious sports honours.
Apart from Rinku, Rajkumar Pal – a member of the Indian hockey team that won a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics – will be appointed as Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP). Rajkumar hails from Ghazipur.
The state government provides jobs to a total of six international medal winning athletes. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will hand over the appointment letters to these players at a function at the Lok Bhavan.
Paralympic high jump gold medalist Praveen Kumar (Gautam Buddh Nagar) will also be appointed DSP. Paralympic javelin silver medalist Ajit Singh (Etawah) will be appointed Raj District Panchayat Officer. Paralympic 200m bronze medalist Simran (Ghaziabad) will also hold the post of District Panchayat Raj Officer.
Preetipal (Muzaffarnagar), who won bronze medals in 100m and 200m at the Paralympics, will be appointed as Block Development Officer (BDO).
A total of nine players will be honored with the Lakshman Award and the Rani Lakshmibai Award for 2024–25 at the ceremony. As part of these awards, the athletes will receive a cash prize of Rs 3.11 crore along with a bronze statuette.
The state government will also share a total prize money of €1.64 million among the 14 players. In addition, 19 players will receive financial assistance worth Rs 8.75 lakh under the Eklavya Sports Fund.
Lakshman Award Recipients (General Category):
- Uttam Singh (Ghazipur) – Hockey
- Vinay (Varanasi) – powerhouse
- Abhijeet Kumar (Prayagraj) – Gymnastics
- Vikrant Balian (Meerut) – Match
- Sagar Dangi (Baghpat) – Shooting
Recipients of the Rani Lakshmibai Award (General Category):
- Bhanu Pathak (Gorakhpur) – Mountaineering
- Deepak Kumar (Ghaziabad) – Mountaineering
- Tanya Chaudhary (Saharanpur) – Athletics
- Tanushree Pandey (Lucknow) – Soft tennis
- Om Yadav – Soft Tennis
- Rajkumar Pal (Ghazipur) – Hockey
- Yash Kumar (Agra) – For Canoeing
- Muskan Yadav (Prayagraj) – Soft tennis
- Abhay Singh (Varanasi) – Kayaking and Canoeing
Rani Lakshmibai Award (Para Category):
Key names include Shravan Kumar (Baghpat), Yash Tomar (Baghpat) and Ishan Khan (Baghpat).
Sportspersons like Pragati Kesarwani (Lucknow) and Vantika Agarwal (Gautam Buddh Nagar) are also among the awardees.
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Issued by:
Kingshuk Kusari
Published on:
24 March 2026 08:46 IST
