BHUBANESWAR: World’s top ranked para-badminton player Pramod Bhagat received Player of the Year award at the 8th Sportslogon Sports Award ceremony held at Jayadev Bhawan here on Sunday.
Bhagat’s doubles partner Dileswar Rao received the award on his behalf since the former is currently attending the national camp for World Para-Badminton Championships scheduled to be held at St Jakobshalle Basel, Switzerland from August 19 to 25.
This year, Bhagat has already bagged five international titles in a row. In Canada, he won the silver. Since para-badminton has been included in the Olympics for the first time in 2020, Bhagat is expected to win a medal for the country.
Delhi-based Odia footballer Subham Sarangi, who received the Emerging Player of the Year award, is currently playing for Delhi Dynamos FC. Bhagat’s coach Siba Prasad Das bagged the Coach of the Year award and former Rourkela-based weightlifter Soubhagini Pradhan received the Player of the Bygone Era award.The four awardees, including Bhagat, received a cash award of Rs 25,000 each and citations.
Similarly, 11-year-old karateka Jasmine Parthasarathi Mishra received the Kumudini Mishra Krida Prativa Puraskar which carries a cash award of Rs 10,000 and a citation. Mishra had bagged gold in open National Karate meet at Chennai in 2017. She also bagged the bronze in U-10 girls kata event in the 9th Commonwealth Karate Championship-2018 held in Durban, South Africa.
The award ceremony was held on the occasion of annual day celebration of leading sports website www.sportslogon.com which is being managed by the Good Samaritan Trust.
Among others, SN Mohanty Group MD Prabod Mohanty, Deputy Resident Editor of The New Indian Express Siba Mohanty, Angul Sukinda Railways MD Dillip Samantray, social activist Kumudini Mishra, secretary of Good Samaritan Trust Tanmay Das, trustee Nanda Kishore Patnaik and Naba Ranjan Patnaik were present.