SRMIST awards Rs 23 lakh cash reward for six athletes

Thirumuru Ganesh Mani Ratnam earned the highest cash reward -- sum of Rs 10 lakh

(L-R) Thirumuru Ganesh Mani Ratnam, Gold, Compound Men, Bronze, Compound Individual, Shameena Riaz, Squash Bronze, Nethra Kumanan, Sailing, Bronze, ILCA-6 Women Dinghy, VS Rahul, 91st Grandmaster and seated: Dr R Mohana Krishnan, Director - Directorate of Sports, Dr Ravi Pachamuthu, Pro-Chancellor (Administration) & Dr S Ponnusamy, Registrar

Updated on:

03 Nov 2026, 3:30 am

CHENNAI: SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST) announced cash rewards totalling Rs 23 lakh for six athletes, including Rs 10 lakh for Thirumuru Ganesh Mani Ratnam (archery), Rs 5 lakh for Shameena Riaz (squash) and Nethra Kumanan (sailing) for their performances at 2026 Asian Games here on Monday.

Ganesh Mani Ratnam won Gold in Compound Men’s Team event and Bronze in the Compound Individual event in Archery while local girl Shameena Riaz was at her best in the women’s team squash event, where they won bronze. Meanwhile, SRMIST alumna Nethra Kumanan secured a bronze medal in ILCA 6 Women’s Sailing event, for which she was awarded Rs 5 lakh.

The felicitation ceremony was organised to celebrate the remarkable achievements of the institution’s students and alumna at the 20th Asian Games Aichi–Nagoya 2026, held in Japan from September 19 to October 4, 2026, as well as those of three students who earned the prestigious Grandmaster (GM) title during the academic year 2025–26.

Three grandmasters Shrihari, Harikrishnan and Rahul too earned themselves Rs 1 lakh for their sporting excellence here on Monday, in the presence of Mohana Krishnan, Director, Directorate of Sports, SRM, Ravi Pachamuthu, Pro Chancellor and S Ponnusamy, Registrar
Srihari LR became India’s 86th grandmaster while Hari Krishnan became the 87th grandmaster. Rahul joined the list later on, becoming the 91st grandmaster.

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