Bhubaneswar: Sprint queen Srabani Nanda was conferred the prestigious 24th Ekalabya Award 2016, in a city hotel here Wednesday. Srabani received the trophy from legendary athlete Milkha Singh who was the chief guest at the function. The ace Orissa athlete bagged a cash prize of Rs 5,00,000 and a citation. The award has been instituted by IMPaCT, a charitable wing of IMFA.
Speaking on the occasion, Srabani said that the award will inspire her to strive for better results. “I have been fortunate enough to represent the country in the 2016 Rio Olympics. But my dream will always be winning an Olympic medal. Hopefully, I can do it at Tokyo 2020. Please continue to give me the necessary support, so that I can bring laurels for my state and country.”
International hockey players Dipsan Tirkey and Deep Grace Ekka were also honoured for their outstanding performances at various national and international level tournaments. Both were presented with citations and a cash prize of Rs 50,000 each. Deep Grace’s sister in law received the award because the player is currently at Singapore representing the country at the Asian Champions Trophy.
Dipsan thanked the award committee for selecting him ward. “The award will definitely boost my confidence and help me in improving my performance in the near future,” he said.
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