Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik presented Biju Patnaik Sports Award to sportspersons and those associated with sports and games in Odisha on the occasion of National Sports Day on Monday.
Athlete and weightlifter Jhili Dalabehera and shooter Shriyanka Sadangi were conferred with the prestigious award by the chief minister at a function held in Loka Seva Bhawan in Bhubaneswar. Jatni MLA Suresh Routray received an award and Rs 3 lakh cash reward on behalf of his son Siddhartha Routray who recently scaled Mt Everest.
The Biju Patnaik Bravery Award was presented to 14-year old Pratap Tarei and 10-year-old Subhashree Rout for their humanity and selfless act of courage and bravery. Each of them received Rs 1 lakh, a citation and a silver medal.
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. The Biju Patnaik Award for Excellence in Sports Journalism was conferred on Benudhar Das. He received Rs 50,000, a citation and a trophy.
Biju Patnaik Award for Lifetime Achievement in Promotion of Sports and Games was given to former international cricketer Debasis Mohanty. He was awarded 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, RSP, received Rs 1 Lakh, a citation and trophy on behalf of the plant.
On this occasion, 53 meritorious sportspersons and para-sportspersons of Odisha received appointment order. Body builder Chandan Kumar Sahu, para-athlete Jayanti Behera, badminton player Rutarparna Panda, para badminton athlete Sunil Pradhan, rugby player Muna Murmu, hockey players Jiwan Kishori Toppo and Janhabi Pradhan received their appointment order from Sports Minister Tusharkanti Behera.
Besides, 291 sportspersons were felicitated with cash awards for their spectacular performance at the national and international level.
Commonwealth Games 2022 medal winners in hockey Amit Rohidas and Deep Grace Ekka were also honoured by the chief minister. Amit received a cash award of Rs 75 Lakh for winning Silver medal while Deep received Rs 50,000 lakh for winning Bronze.
Dutee Chand and Srabani Nanda for participation in CWG 2022, Padmini Rout for participation in FIDE Chess Olympiad and Dinesh Kumar for participation in CWG 2022 received Rs 7.5 Lakh each from the Sports Minister.
Similarly, chess player Saina Salonika received Rs 1.5 Lakh, football player Tankadhar Bag Rs 2 lakh, blind chess player Soundarya Pradhan Rs 2 Lakh, wheelchair fencers V Ramesh Rao and Rakhal Sethy Rs 2 lakh each and Malati Panure received Rs 3 lakhfor their achievements in international platforms.
Congratulating the award recipients, the Chief Minister said, “It is a proud moment for us to honour you all. I am sure the achievements of the sportspersons being felicitated today will motivate more youth to take up sports as a career.”
“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.
Chairman, Hockey Promotion Council Dilip Tirkey;, Chief Secretary Suresh Mahapatra; Development Commissioner- cum Additional Chief Secretary PK Jena;, Secretary to Chief Minister VK Pandian; Commissioner-cum-Secretary R Vineel Krishna and officials of Sports and Youth Services department were present on the occasion.
