Bhubaneswar: Ace sprinter and Olympian Srabani Nanda will be conferred with the prestigious 24rd Ekalavya award for the year 2016. Apart from this, two hockey players Deep Grace Ekka and Dipsan Tirkey will also be felicitated.
The award committee announced name of Nanda to the media after the meeting. Srabani will get a cash award of Rs 5 lakh along with a trophy at the Ekalavya Award function, the date of which will be announced later.
Srabani, who had participated in women’s 200-metre sprint event in the Rio Olympics, has won a gold medal in 200-metre sprint event and two silver medals in 100 and 4X100 metre relay race in the South Asian Games this year. Besides, she has won a silver medal in 4X100 metre relay race in Asian Grand Prix in Thailand in 2015.
Besides, two hockey players –Deep Grace Ekka and Dipsan will be felicitated with a cash prize of Rs 50,000 and a citation each.
The award, instituted by Indian Metals Public Charitable Trust (IMPaCT), the charitable wing of the IMFA Group, in 1993, is conferred every year on young sportspersons of Odisha.