Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 2026 : Four sportspersons from Kerala have earned government jobs through the Centre’s sports quota, marking a significant recognition of their achievements in athletics, football and badminton. The development comes as the Kerala government separately moves to substantially increase cash rewards for athletes who win medals at major national and international competitions.
Sandra Mol Sabu, Jilna M.V., Shyam Prasad U. and Alphonsia M. received their appointment orders from Alok Kumar, Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Mumbai, at a function held at Aaykar Bhavan. The appointments were made by the Mumbai Income Tax Department following a recruitment drive for 97 sports-quota vacancies notified in January.
The department received 3,595 applications from athletes across various sporting disciplines before selecting 97 candidates based on merit and eligibility.
Sandra, one of the most prominent among the four, has been appointed as a Multi-Tasking Staff member. She won gold medals in both the mixed 4x400m relay and women's 4x400m relay at the 2026 Asian U-23 Athletics Championships in China. She had earlier secured a gold and a silver medal at the 2024 Asian U-20 Athletics Championships in Dubai.
Alphonsia, who represented Kerala in the Senior Women's National Football Championship during the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons, has also been appointed as a Multi-Tasking Staff member.
Jilna has been appointed as a Tax Assistant in recognition of her achievements in athletics. She won silver in the 4x100m relay at both the South Asian Senior Athletics Championships in Ranchi and the National Inter-State Senior Athletics Championships in Chennai in 2025.
Badminton player Shyam Prasad has also secured the post of Tax Assistant. He won the men's doubles title at the 2023 APACS Kazakhstan International Series and finished third in men's doubles at the 2025 South Zone Inter-State Badminton Championships.
The Centre's decision to provide employment through the sports quota comes at a time when Kerala is also strengthening its financial support for sporting achievements.
The state Cabinet has approved a reward of Rs 20 lakh each for Commonwealth Games long-jump silver medallist Sreeshankar Murali and para-athlete Muhammed Basil, who won silver in the men's 100m event. Divi Bijesh, the Under-12 World Chess Champion, and Sandra Mol Sabu will also receive Rs 20 lakh each.
Commonwealth Games finalists Sajan Prakash and Ansa Babu will receive Rs 5 lakh each, while the coaches of Sreeshankar and Basil will be awarded Rs 2 lakh each.
State Sports Minister O.J. Janeesh said the existing prize structure of Rs 5 lakh for gold, Rs 3 lakh for silver and Rs 1 lakh for bronze was inadequate and needed revision.
The government has also taken steps to address delays in the disbursement of prize money. Rewards for athletes who won medals at national and international competitions have remained pending since 2019. The state has sanctioned Rs 1.5 crore as the first instalment towards clearing these outstanding payments.
For Kerala's sporting community, the latest measures represent recognition on two fronts. While the Centre is providing athletes with a stable government career through sports-quota appointments, the state government is increasing financial incentives and clearing pending rewards, reinforcing its commitment to supporting sporting excellence.
