Bhubaneswar: For the second time in a row, the state government has received the ‘Best State for Promotion of Sports’ award at the Sportstar ACES Awards held in Mumbai Monday.
Odisha Sports minister Tusharkanti Behera received the award on behalf of the state government.
This apart, ace para-badminton player from Odisha, Pramod Bhagat and hockey star Deep Grace Ekka also won the Sportsman of the Year (Para-sports) Jury award and Sportswoman of the Year (Team Sports) award respectively.
“It adds another feather to Odisha’s cap and strengthens our resolve to transform Odisha into a global sports hub,” tweeted Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik.
In this event, PV Sindhu won Sportstar of the Year award, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd won Best Corporate/PSU for the Promotion of Sports, and Indian men’s Cricket Test team bagged the Team of the Year prize. Cricket legend Kapil Dev was honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award.
Ekta Bhyan bagged Sportswoman of the Year (Para-sports), Annu Rani as Sportswoman of the Year (Track and Field), Avinash Sable as Sportsman of the Year (Track and Field), and B Sai Praneeth as Sportsman of the Year (Racquet Sports), Pankaj Advani as Special Jury Award, Koneru Humpy and Apurvi Chandela as Sportswoman of the Year (Individual Sports), Bajrang Punia as Sportsman of the Year (Individual Sports), Leander Paes as Special Recognition Award, R Praggnanandhaa and Esow Alben as Young Athlete of the Year (Male), Mehuli Ghosh as Young Athlete of the Year (Female), Manpreet Singh as Sportsman of the Year (Team Sports), Smriti Mandhana as Sportswoman of the Year (Cricket), Rohit Sharma as Sportsman of the Year (Cricket), Pullela Gopichand and RB Ramesh Coach of the Year, Steve Smith as Chairman’s Choice Award, and Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research as Best University for the Promotion of Sports.
PNN