Odisha govt honours athletes for outstanding performance in sports

Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], December 17 : In recognition of the outstanding performance of athletes at the national and international level, the Sports and Youth Services Department on Friday honoured 237 athletes from across the state.
Minister for Sports and Youth Services, Tusharkanti Behera, felicitated the athletes with cash prizes in the presence of Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Sports and Youth Services, R.Vineel Krishna and officials of the Sports Department.
A total of Rs 1,08,83,000 crore was awarded across various sports disciplines. Out of a total of 237 athletes awarded cash prizes, 172 were in a general category, while 65 were in the Para Athletics category.
The Sports Minister, said, "Under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the Odisha government has come up with a number of schemes for the betterment of sports and sportspersons."
"We have been able to build infrastructure for players to excel in their respective events. We have built 11 HPCs in the state for the high performance of the players. The Chief Minister also visited Kalinga Stadium and laid the foundation stone of 89 indoor stadiums and inaugurated a number of major sports projects," he said.
"The cash award is in recognition of your hard work and outstanding achievement. You all are role models for the younger generation of sports and I wish you greater laurels in your sporting journey ahead," he added.
The annual cash award scheme of the Sports Department is aimed at encouraging and motivating the players and inspiring them for higher achievements.