Bhubaneswar: Committed to boosting the sporting culture in India, Odisha based Dr Sarthak Patnaik and the founder of Sports Science India (SSI) hosted a gala Sports Award ceremony here at Kalinga Stadium on Saturday.
More than 17 international level athletes and sportspersons were felicitated. This year, SSI Karna award was conferred on Karnataka swimmer Aneesh S Gowda, Arjuna awardee weightlifter Sathish Sivalingam, Odia cyclist Swasti Singh, racer Aditya Thakur, sprinter Sandeep Kumar, Sneha SS, Olympian gymnast Pranati Nayak and badminton sensation Anmol Kharb.
Similarly, SSI Milkha Singh Sprint Champion Award was given to Odia sprinter Lalu Prasad Bhoi and Nithya Gandhe. SSI Emerging Player award was given to Chhattisgarh sprinter Animesh Kujur. SSI also dedicated an award in honour of hockey legend Dilip Tirkey. This year Dilip Tirkey hockey best player award was received by Shilanad Lakra, while the SSI Paika team award was conferred on the Indian Hockey team.
The SSI Best Coach and Grassroots Coach awards were received by national badminton coach Vimal Kumar and Indian women Ice Hockey team coach Abdul Hakim Giri respectively. Similarly, SSI Sports Development and Sports Journalism awards were received by JSW Sports and Dipti Ranjan samal respectively.
Speaking about the ceremony, SSI Founder Dr Sarthak Patnaik said “Our award ceremony is a step towards promotion of sports in the country. We want to celebrate the achievements of our sportspersons so that thousands of other aspiring athletes are Inspired”.
The award ceremony was inaugurated by Deputy Chief Minister Odisha Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo in presence of Padma Shri Hockey India President Dilip Tirkey, Olympic weightlifting medallist Karnam Malleswari, former Indian football team captain Bruno Coutinho and SNM Group Director Prabodh Mohanty.
