Bhubaneswar: On the occasion of National Sports Day, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik presented prestigious Biju Patnaik Sports Awards to Odia athlete, weightlifter Jhili Dalabehera and shooter Shriyanka Sadangi for their outstanding performance in sports and games.
The Chief Minister felicitated the sports personalities from Odisha here at a special event held here at Lok Seva Bhawan.
On the occasion, the State Government felicitated 291 sportspersons with cash awards of Rs 2.12 crore for their spectacular performance at the national and international level.
Commonwealth Games 2022 medal winners in hockey Amit Rohidas and Deep Grace Ekka were honoured by the Chief Minister. Amit received a cash award of Rs 75 lakh for winning Silver while Deep received Rs 50 lakh for winning Bronze.
Dutee Chand & Srabani Nanda for participation in CWG 2022, Padmini Rout for participation in FIDE Chess Olympiad, Dinesh Kumar for participation in CWG 2022 received Rs 7.5 lakh each from Sports Minister Tusharkanti Behera at the ceremony.
Similarly, chess player Saina Salonika received Rs 1.5 lakh, football player Tankadhar Bag received Rs 2 lakh, Blind Chess player Soundarya Pradhan received Rs 2 lakh, wheelchair fencers, V. Ramesh Rao, Rakhal Sethy received Rs 2 lakh and Malati Panure received Rs 3 lakhs from the Minister for their achievements in international platforms.
Jatani MLA Suresh Routray received an award from the Chief Minister on behalf of his son Siddhartha Routray who recently scaled Mt Everest. Rs 3 lakh cash awarded to Siddhartha.
For their humanity and selfless act of courage and bravery 14-year old Pratap Tarei and 10- year old Subhashree Rout were conferred with the Biju Patnaik Bravery Award. They each received Rs 1 lakh, a citation and a silver medal from the Chief Minister.
Coach Bishnu Mishra was conferred with the Biju Patnaik Sports Award for Excellence in Coaching. He received Rs. 1 lakh, a citation and a trophy.
Similarly, the Biju Patnaik Award for Excellence in Sports Journalism was conferred to Benudhar Das, who got Rs. 50,000 cash, a citation and a trophy.
Biju Patnaik Award for Lifetime Achievement in Promotion of Sports and Games was given to former Odia International cricketer, Debasis Mohanty. He was awarded with Rs.3 lakh, a citation and a trophy.
Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) bagged the Biju Patnaik Sports Award for Best Contribution to Sports and Games. Atanu Bhowmick, Director of RSP, received Rs.1 lakh, a citation and trophy on behalf of the organisation.
On this occasion, 53 meritorious sportspersons and para-sportspersons of Odisha received their appointment order for their outstanding performance in their sports disciplines and bringing laurels for their State and nation.
The Sports Minister handed over appointment orders to body builder Chandan Kumar Sahu, para-athlete Jayanti Behera, Badminton player, Rutuparna Panda, para badminton athlete Sunil Pradhan, Rugby player, Muna Murmu, hockey players Jiwan Kishori Toppo and Janhabi Pradhan.
Congratulating all, Mr.Patnaik, said, “It is a proud moment for us to honour you all. I am sure the achievements of the sports persons being felicitated today, will motivate more youth to take up sports as a career.”
Stating sports is an important medium towards the development of our youth and society, he said, “We are investing in sports across the state and supporting the sportsperson in their endeavour to achieve excellence.”
Odisha is being recognised as an emerging sports destination of the country. The government will continue to support the sports activities and make Odisha a major force in the sports field in the coming years, he added.
The awardees expressed their gratitude for the support they have been extended by the government of Odisha and thanked the Chief Minister for his continuous support for sports in Odisha.