Taipei: Winning an Olympic medal is a dream for Olympians, it marks the combination of all their hard work over the years, and for some countries, it also comes with a big payout.
Taiwan offers the second-highest known payout for an Olympic gold medalist at 20 million New Taiwan dollars, equivalent to approximately USD $713,147. Singapore offers the highest payout for Olympic gold medalists with 1 million Singapore dollars, about USD $738,000.
Lee Yang/Wang Chi-lin who won the 2020 Tokyo Olympics men’s doubles gold medal, made their first public appearance on Thursday after their quarantine period ended upon returning to Taiwan from Tokyo.
They attended a promotional event for the Taiwan Sports Lottery and were asked about what would they do with their cash bonuses. They both said that instead of collecting the money as a lump sum, they both have decided to get the money as a monthly payout of $125,000 Taiwan Dollars (USD $4,458), and would invest in real estate and take care of their parents.
“I should find a way to live longer, so I will have a higher monthly income for life,” said Lee Yang jokingly.
“After having a stable income, my priority is to buy a house so that my family can enjoy a better life,” said Wang Chi-lin.
When comparing other men’s doubles pairs in the world, Wang said that all players in the men’s doubles category are highly competitive.
“In fact, skill levels for players at the highest levels of badminton are very close. We would not be complacent just because we won the Olympic gold. Instead, we should always maintain the attitude as a challenger, treating every tournament as a new start,” said Wang.
They both also made fun of each other after the 14-day quarantine.
“We’ve been seeing each other almost every day for few years. It’s kind of strange for not seeing each other for more than two weeks.”
The pair said they will be selective of taking part in tournaments for the rest of 2021. They are hoping to win gold at the 2022 All England and 2022 Asian Games.
