Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government recommended sprinter Dutee Chand and hockey player Birendra Lakra for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjun Award for 2021 respectively.
The Sports and Youth Services Department of Odisha on Tuesday made the recommendations for the National Sports Awards 2021 to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
On June 21, Dutee set a new national record in women’s 100 metre sprint event with 11.17 seconds at the Indian Grand Prix-4 organized by the Athletics Federation of India in Patiala.
Though she missed to qualify for the tokyo olympics during her second chance held on June 26, she still has a chance to qualify for the olympics based on ranking.
Birendra Lakra along with Harmanpreet Singh has been appointed as the vice-captain of the 16 member Indian Men’s Hockey team for Tokyo Olympics. He had also played in the London Olympics.
The department has also recommended the name of veteran Hockey Coach, Kalucharan Chaudhary for Dronacharya Award and former National record holder in 100m hurdles, Anuradha Biswal for Dhayanchand Award.
This apart, KIIT University & Odisha Mining Corporation have been nominated for the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Award.