BENGALURU: The event was the presentation of Ekalavya awards at the banquet hall in the Vidhana Soudha on Monday. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, usually reticent, seemed to be in a relaxed mood, after hectic campaigning for the bypolls in the last few days. While some awards were given by the CM, some were presented by ministers R Ashoka and C T Ravi.
After giving the awards to a few, Yediyurappa who was standing next to Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad all of a sudden bent towards Khushi Dinesh, a young swimmer, and asked if it was a gold bangle she was wearing on her right hand. When Khushi said it was an imitation piece, Yediyurappa smilingly told her to buy gold bangles and wear them. Khushi, 17, is making a name in the national level swimming competitions. Later, speaking to reporters, Khushi said, “It felt very nice that my bangle caught the attention of the Chief Minister and he spoke to me.
”Prior to this golden aside, the CM urged sportspersons to prepare themselves to take part in the 2028 Olympics and assured them that the government would provide them full support.He told the awardees not to get satisfied with the Ekalavya award, instead work hard to participate in international sports events and make Karnataka and India proud.
31 chosen for Ekalavya awards
Ekalavya, Lifetime Achievement, Karnataka Kreeda Ratna, Kreeda Poshaka and NSS awards were presented at the event organized by the Department of Sports and Youth Empowerment.
Indian cricketers K L Rahul and Mayank Agarwal who were selected for the award could not attend the event as they were playing at the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament in the UAE.As many as 31 sportspersons were chosen for the Ekalavya awards for three years. Karnataka Sports Minister C T Ravi said the awards were not given for the last three years for various reasons.