A gold in women's doubles and a silver in mixed doubles — Thulasimathi Murugesan walked off the para badminton court at the 5th Para Asian Games in Japan with two more medals to her name, and the Chief Minister's Office of Tamil Nadu wasted no time making the state's pride official on Friday, 23 October 2026.

The CMO, posting on behalf of Chief Minister Joseph Vijay, announced that the Tamil Nadu government will award ₹1.25 crore as a special incentive to Thulasimathi in recognition of her achievements at the Games. The announcement confirmed that she has now won three medals at the Para Asian Games across her career — each one adding to both Tamil Nadu's and India's sporting honour.

Two medals in Japan, three Para Asian Games triumphs in total

Thulasimathi Murugesan competed in the SL3-SU5 classification — the para badminton category designed for athletes with specific lower-limb or standing impairments. She claimed gold as part of the Indian women's doubles pair and added silver alongside her mixed doubles partner, giving India a strong haul from the sport. Her career Para Asian Games medal count now stands at three. That trajectory — medals across multiple editions — marks her as one of India's most consistent para badminton performers.

₹1.25 crore and a promise of long-term support

The CMO's post was warm but deliberate. Beyond the prize money, it carried an explicit commitment: 'தமிழ்நாடு அரசு என்றும் உறுதுணையாக நிற்கும்' — 'the Tamil Nadu government will always stand as a strong support.' That framing matters. Tamil Nadu has historically backed medallists from the Asian Games and their para equivalents with cash awards ranging from several lakhs to multiple crores, using each announcement as both recognition and as a public signal to the next generation of athletes. This ₹1.25 crore award sits squarely within that tradition.

The post also highlighted the inspirational dimension directly: Thulasimathi's 'continuous victories give new hope and encouragement to the younger generation that strives to achieve.' For a state government account, naming that ripple effect alongside the prize money is a deliberate investment in the pipeline of para sports talent.

Para badminton's rising profile in India

Indian state governments have increasingly stepped in to supplement central support for para athletes, recognising that visibility and financial security are inseparable for sportspersons with disabilities building long careers. Tamil Nadu's pattern of linking medal wins to immediate, named cash rewards — and pairing them with public statements of ongoing institutional backing — has become a template others follow. With the Para Asian Games serving as the continent's premier quadrennial showcase for athletes with disabilities, a gold and a silver here carry weight well beyond the scoreboard.

For Thulasimathi, the question now is where she takes that momentum next — and whether Tamil Nadu's backing turns into the kind of structural support that carries para athletes all the way to the Paralympic podium.