TV
Emerging swimmer Pratyasa Ray has been conferred with the prestigious 32nd Ekalabya Puraskar for 2024 for her outstanding achievements in the sport. The award was instituted by IMPaCT, and managed by IMFA, the leading Ferro Alloys producer in the country.
Besides, sprinter Dondapati Mrutyum Jayaram, and badminton player Tanvi Patri were honoured with citations for their outstanding performances on both national and international stages.
Pratyasa received a cash prize of Rs. 7 lakh along with a citation from Odisha Deputy Chief Minister KV Singhdeo who attended the Ekalabya Puraskar award ceremony as chief guest held at Bhubaneswar on Sunday.
Similarly, sprinter Dondapati and badminton player Tanvi each received a cash prize of Rs. 1.5 lakh with citations at the award ceremony.
Speaking on the occasion, Pratyasa said, “I express my heartfelt gratitude for selecting me for the prestigious award. This award does not reflect my hard work only, but the community around me. It reflects the people who have their hands on my back. I promise to uphold the honour that this award has provided me and I promise to strive for more and greater success.”
Notably, Ekalabya Puraskar, instituted by IMPaCT, in the year 1993 and managed by IMFA, has come a long way to be recognised as the most prestigious sports award of Odisha, drawing parallels with many national awards.
A mere look at the career graph of many of the past awardees confirms that over the years, it has been a morale booster for the best sporting talents in the State. The award is given every year to young sportspersons of Odisha in recognition of their outstanding performance in the preceding two years.
“The way Baijayant babu and all his family members are supporting sportspersons, it will help them get encouraged and flourish their talent further in the coming days. I wish the three sportspersons who were awarded today all success in their future endeavours,” said Deputy Chief Minister KV Singhdeo.
“It is another milestone for Ekalabya Puraskar today. Ekalabya Puraskar is given for swimming for the first time. Some sports disciplines have more public support and better infrastructure. However, some sports like swimming have been recently improved. We all are hopeful that Pratyasa will perform better in future and bring more laurels,” said BJP National Vice-President and Kendrapara MP Baijayant Panda.
