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Ekalabya Award presented to Mamata

Photo: Ashoke Chakrabarty

High moment: Mamata Jena receiving Ekalabya Award from Surendranath Naik, Minister for Agriculture, in Bhubaneswar on Sunday. —

BHUBANESWAR: Orissa’s national women’s rowing champion and bronze medal winner in Asian rowing championship in 2006 – Mamata Jena – was presented the prestigious Ekalabya Award for her excellence in sports and athletics here on Sunday.

The award, instituted 15 years ago by IMFA Group, carries a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh besides a citation. It is being presented to an outstanding and young sportsperson of the State every year. Indian hockey skipper Dilip Tirkey, Olympian Anuradha Biswal, national women’s football skipper Sraddhanjali Samantray and cricketer Debasis Mohanty have been its past recipients.

Besides Mamata, rising star in international chess player Kiran Manisha Mohanty and middle distance runner Dandu Soren, who has swept almost all top slots in 800 and 1500 metres events at the national level, were felicitated on the occasion with cash award of Rs.10,000 each. Agriculture Minister Mr.S.N.Nayak and IMFA promoted IMPACT Trust chairman and parliamentarian Mr.Baijayant Panda presented the awards.

Addressing the gathering, Mr. Panda called upon the people of the State to create a mindset for sports as a career. He also called upon the corporate sector to support sports activities in the State. “The IMFA Group has made it a mandate to promote sports of the state and hence had limited the awards to the talents of Orissa”, he clarified.

Several members of the sports fraternity of the State attended the award presentation ceremony.

Earlier, award committee convener Sanjeev Das welcomed.

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