Madurai (Tamil Nadu) [India], March 7 (ANI): Arjuna Awardee Deaflympian Jerlin Anika was honoured for her contribution to sports by Tamil Nadu Sports and Youth Welfare Minister Udayanidhi Stalin on Tuesday in a ceremony held in Madurai here.

Jerlin Aniks won three gold medals in Badminton in the Deaflympics 2021 held in Brazil and she is the first Indian to win three golds at an Olympic event. She is also number 1 in India within the deaf category in the Badminton.

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Stalin was the special guest in the felicitation ceremony.

Taking to Twitter, Stalin wrote, "Badminton player Jerlin Anika, Olympian Revathy, pole vault national champion Rosy Meena, who have brought pride to Madurai Lady Doak College and Tamil Nadu by winning medals in international competitions, and their coaches were honoured in Madurai today."

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https://twitter.com/Udhaystalin/status/1632778367593492480?s=20

Udhayanidhi Stalin further said, " Our Chief Minister gave me an opportunity to serve as Sports Minister in December. After that, I participate in various sports programs to motivate the players."

"The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has given 79.5 lakhs as an incentive to Arjuna awardee Jerlin Anika in one year. Through this, you can know how much importance the Tamil Nadu government gives to the sports department," he added.

"15 different sports competitions are being held at the state level called Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's Cup at a cost of 25 crores. Eight countries from around the world will participate in the Squash World Cup in Chennai in June. After that, the Asian Hockey Tournament will be held in Chennai. All this is an example of how much importance this government attaches to the sports department," he informed.

"We all sit together and enjoy cricket matches on TV but if someone from our house wants to achieve in the field of sports, parents get scared. Because they are afraid of getting a job in the sports department. You have to come out of that fear. Just as education is important, so is sports. This government is giving importance to education, medicine and sports," said Stalin. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)