Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s veteran footballer Bharatikrushna Mishra and hockey coach Amulya Behera have been nominated for the Kamal Ganguly Award for 2023.
The award, instituted in memory of eminent coach Kamal Ganguly, is presented by Saheed Sporting in Bhubaneswar and sponsored by Maruti Estate India Pvt Ltd. The award, which has been presented to sportspersons since 2012, will be conferred on Mishra and Behera at a function on Saheed Sporting premises on February 18.
Mishra, a well-known goal-keeper of the country, was part of Indian team that played in Youth Asian Championship held at Tokyo in 1965. He represented Odisha in Subrat Cup in 1960, Santosh Trophy in 1967 and 1968. He was also one of the selectors for Indian football team for 1982 Asian Games.
Behera started his coaching career in 1991 after undergoing training at National Sports Academy. He had also played for Berhampur University for three years before that. He served as coach in State Sports Hostel and coache several talented hockey players including Prabodh Tirkey, Ignes Tirkey, Sunil Ekka, and others.
