CM Naveen Patnaik honours Sports Persons with Biju Patnaik Awards

Bhubaneswar:  Weightlifter Jhili Dalabehera and shooter Shriyanka Sadangi were conferred with the prestigious Biju Patnaik Sports Award.

On the occasion of National Sports Day, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik felicitated sportspersons in different categories during an award ceremony held at Convention Centre in Loka Seva Bhawan Bhubaneswar. They were felicitated for their outstanding performance in sports and games.

A total of Rs 2, 12, 82,500 cash awards was presented to different sports persons.

Commonwealth Games 2022 Silver medal winner in hockey Amit Rohidas received a cash award of Rs 75 Lakh while Deep Grace Ekka received Rs 50,000 Lakh for winning Bronze.

Jatani MLA suresh Routray recieved an award from chief minister on behalf of his son Siddhartha Routray who recently scaled The Mt Everest. Siddhartha recieved a cash reward of Rs Three lakh from the CM.

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.

The Biju Patnaik Award for Excellence in Sports Journalism was conferred to 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 Odia 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 organisation.

On this occasion of National Sports Day celebration, 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.

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 the Sports Minister Tusharkanti Behera in presence of the Chief Minister.

Besides, 291 sportspersons were felicitated with cash awards today, for their spectacular performance at the national and international level.
Commonwealth Games 2022 medal winners in hockey.

Dutee Chand and 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 Sports Minister for their achievements in international platforms.

Congratulating all, Chief Minister Naveen 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. Sports is an important medium towards the development of our youth and society. 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.

Chairman Hockey Promotion Council Dilip Tirkey, Chief Secretary, Suresh Mahapatra, Development Commissioner- cum Additional Chief Secretary, P K Jena, Secretary to Chief Minister VK Pandian, Commissioner cum Secretary, R Vineel Krishna and officials and staff, coaches and athletes of Sports and Youth Services Department attended the function