Government gives bonus for all athletes competing in Paris Olympics

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Youth and Sports Dito Ariotedjo revealed that all Indonesian athletes competing in the 2024 Paris Olympics will receive a bonus as a mark of appreciation from the government for representing the country.

"For all athletes and coaches who do not win medals, they will receive a bonus as a form of our appreciation and commitment. The bonus will be announced soon," Ariotedjo said in a statement from his office on Wednesday.

The bonus values for the three medal-winning athletes, Veddriq Leonardo, Rizki Juniansyah, and Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, have been specifically determined based on the direction of President Joko Widodo.

Speed climber Veddriq Leonardo and weightlifter Rizki Juniansyah will receive a cash bonus of Rp6 billion (US$366 thousand) each from the government for winning the gold medal and their coaches will get Rp2.75 billion (US$167 thousand) each. 

"For gold winners, President Jokowi has announced that athletes will receive Rp6 billion, while coaches of gold-winning athletes will receive Rp2.75 billion," the minister said.

That amount is also higher than the bonus given to gold winners at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was Rp5.5 billion (US$335 thousand) for athletes and Rp2.5 billion (US$152 thousand) for coaches.

Women's badminton athlete Gregoria, who secured the bronze medal, will receive a bonus of Rp1.65 billion (US$100 thousand) and Rp675 million (US$41 thousand) for her coach.

Ariotedjo remarked that the figure was higher than the bonus given to Indonesian athletes who won the same medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was Rp1.5 billion (US$91 thousand) for athletes and Rp600 million (US$36 thousand) for coaches.

Veddriq and Rizki arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Tuesday along with other Olympic participants, such as rock climbers Desak Made Rita Kusuma Dewi, Rajiah Sallsabillah, and Rahmad Adi Mulyono, as well as weightlifter Nurul Akmal.

They were also accompanied by Chef de Mission (CdM) of the Indonesian Contingent for the 2024 Paris Olympics, Anindya Bakrie.

Ariotedjo and Minister of State Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir, who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), welcomed the entourage.

Before returning to Indonesia, Rizki and Veddriq represented Indonesia at the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics on August 11, local time. ​​​​​​​