Former Indian Kabaddi captain Ritu Negi left stunned after not finding her name in the Himachal’s Rs 1 crore reward list, after gold heroics for India in the Asian Games 2026.
Published: October 9, 2026, 7:31 PM IST
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Indian Kabaddi gold medallist Ritu Singh raised concern over name removal by the Himachal Pradesh government
The men’s and women’s teams showed a brilliant performance for India in Kabaddi as their brilliance helped them to bag gold medal in the Asian Games 2026.
Each athlete has delivered an exceptional performance in Kabaddi as the men’s team faced Iran in the finals of the event, where they successfully managed to defeat them by 40-34 on September 26, 2026, at the Tokai Citizen Gymnasium, Aichi, Japan.
Read more:
WATCH: India men’s Kabaddi defeat Thailand 66-28 to qualify for the final in the Asian Games 2026
Meanwhile, the women’s team also faced the same rival in the final of the events, where they delivered a phenomenal performance to defeat Iran by a narrow margin, 37-34, to achieve a gold medal for India.
However, after these big achievements in the Asian Games 2026, a big controversy occurred as the star Indian athlete Ritu Negi, who is the former Indian Kabaddi team captain and was also honored with the Arjuna AwardShe was also a part of the Indian squad, who won gold for India at the Asian Games 2026.
She was dropped from the list of cash award recipients released by the Himachal Pradesh governmentRitu’s name was removed from the list of players who would get a cash prize of Rs 1 crore by the Himachal Pradesh governmentThis decision was taken at the last moment, which left Ritu and her family disappointed.
On October 5, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu announced a cash prize of Rs 1 crore for three players from the Indian women’s kabaddi team, Pushpa Rana, Jyoti Thakur and Bhawna ThakurThe three players won gold at the Asian GamesIndian women’s cricket team player Renuka Thakur was also named for the same reward.
After this act, Ritu opened up about the situation and told the media: “Until a week ago, I was a daughter of Himachal and the CM shared a congratulatory message on Facebook, while former CM Jairam Thakur and Member of Parliament Anurag Thakur had called to congratulate me.”
“I simply cannot understand what changed so suddenly two days ago.”
She questioned why she was being treated this way despite representing India at three Asian Games in a row and winning two gold medals and one silver medal.
She also said that even though she works for Indian Railways, she has always represented Himachal Pradesh, not Haryana, in domestic competitions.
“Why Himachal Pradesh is behaving in such a way at this stage of my career?” she asked.
