Rising shuttler Swetaparna Panda conferred prestigious Ekalabya Puraskar 2025

Rising badminton star Swetaparna Panda was conferred with the prestigious 33rd Ekalabya Puraskar at a ceremony in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.

Swetaparna received a trophy along with a cash prize of Rs 7 lakh.

Besides, weightlifter Pritismita Bhoi and lawn tennis player Aahaan were also felicitated for their outstanding performances at the national and international levels. Apart from a citation, each of them was awarded a cash prize of Rs 1.5 lakh.

Odisha Advocate General Pitambar Acharya graced the occasion as the chief guest, while Prakash Mishra, IPS (Retd.), Advisor to the Chief Minister, attended as the guest of honour.

Chairman of the Ekalabya Puraskar Committee-2025 and Trustee of IMPaCT- Baijayant Panda was present along with distinguished members of the jury.

Also Read: Rising shuttler Swetaparna Panda to receive prestigious Ekalabya Puraskar for 2025

The event concluded with a vote of thanks by IMPaCT Trustee Paramita Panda, and the awards ceremony was conducted by Aswini Prasad Mohanty, Head of IMFA Corporate Affairs.

"Definitely, it's a great inspiration for me. My sister was also an Ekalabya awardee four years ago. I was inspired when I saw her bagging the award then. I had made up my mind to play well and do hard work. However, I had never thought about bagging  Ekalabya award. But, I think I worked hard and that is why I got the award this year," said Swetaparna Panda.

"I am so happy to get this opportunity. I hope to perform better in weightlifting in future," said Pritismita Bhoi.

"I am thankful to IMFA for the Ekalabya Award. I will try my best to bag the main Ekalabya Award next year. Thanks to my coaches, parents and everyone," said Aahaan.

" Ekalabya Puraskar will go a long way to inspire not only sportspersons but also sports lovers across the state in coming days," said Advocate General Pitambar Acharya.

Ekalabya Puraskar, instituted by IMPaCT in the year 1993 and managed by IMFA, the leading Ferro Alloys producer in the country, 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.