Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Sept 6: Emerging woman cricketer Sushree Divyadarshini Pradhan and veteran umpire Asit Kumar Patnaik of the state received the prestigious Saroj Mahasuara Award for the year 2015-16 in a function at the Town Club here Sunday.
Sushree has shown a lot of promise as a cricketer of the state over last one year. She has represented India-A against strong opponents like New Zealand, Sri Lanka and South Africa. She has also been called by National Cricket Academy in Bangalore for a special training session. She has been playing in the Women’s Challenger Trophy since last three years.
She played a great role in the last All India Women’s cricket tournament to help Orissa finish runners-up. Eighteen years Sushree has also represented the East Zone in various T-20 tournaments.
Asit’s contribution has also been enormous for Orissa cricket. Veteran Umpire Asit has established himself as an eminent umpire of the state since last 10 years. Previously he was a cricketer and he has represented Koraput and Klalahandi in different tournaments of the state. After retiring from cricket he tried his hands with umpiring and carved a niche in this field within a very short period of time.
He cleared the OCA Panel and BCCI Level-I Umpiring examination in 2005 and since then has never looked back. He is a senior umpire in OCA panel and has conducted many OCA matches successfully.
Culture and Tourism Minister Ashok Panda gave away the awards as the chief guest of the presentation ceremony. A selection committee led by Samir Mohanty had decided the names of the two awardees.