BHOPAL, 7 November 2003 — India’s former sprint queen P. T. Usha presented the prestigious sports awards of Madhya Pradesh Government namely Eklavya, Vikram and Vishvamitra at a glittering function here on Monday. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digivijay Singh presided over the function.
The lifetime achievement award was given to former Ranji cricketer Sanjay Jagdale, who is secretary Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association. He is also member of the selection committee of Board for Control of Cricket in India, (BCCI).
P.T. Usha speaking on the occasion urged the younger generation of players to keep on their pursuits with dedication and commitment for lasting success. She was also felicitated on the occasion for her achievements. .
Digivijay Singh speaking on the occasion stressed the need to amend the policy for giving sports awards, and that an independent jury comprising eminent sportspersons, as members should make selection of outstanding sportspersons for the awards. The procedure of inviting applications from sportspersons for the Vikram Awards and other sports awards should be done away with immediately, he emphasized.
He urged P. T. Usha to join as Sports Advisor to Madhya Pradesh in order to promote sports and guide younger generation of sportspersons. He released a souvenir on the occasion.
Member of Parliament, Kamalnath and Madhya Pradesh Minister Sports, Tejilal Saryam; were present on the occasion.
Madhya Pradesh Government Sports Secretary, Raghav Chandra informed that 33 awards in various sports including 10 Vikram Awards have been given to the outstanding personalities.
Madhya Pradesh Director of Sports Dev informed that Vikram Award was instituted by the state government in 1972-73. It carried Rs.1001 along with a citation and a memento. Now, the amount has been raised to Rs. 50,000. Similarly, the amount of Eklavya Award, which aims at encouraging young talents, has been increased to Rs. 25,000.
The amount of Vishwamitra Award, which is given to umpires, referees, trainers and coaches, has also been increased to Rs. 30,000.
He further informed that an outstanding sportsman has been selected for the Vikram Award under the disabled category. In addition, lifetime achievement award has also been instituted.
The recipients of various sports awards are as follows:-
Eklavya Awards: Naveen Kumar Sahu (Kayaking & Canoeing), Nidhi Chandra (basketball), Mandar Rajwade (swimming & diving), Sunil Gaur (athletics), Barkha Gupta (kho-kho), Renuka Verma (taekwondo), Amardeep Baseria (fencing), Sandhya Thakur (throwball), Priyank Mukati (baseball), Revati Joshi (cricket). Special award was conferred on Puja Patidar (swimming);
Vikram Awards: Rajkumari Dodiya (rifle shooting), Mrityunjaya Rathore (equestrian), J.P. Yadav (cricket), Mamta Lahore (kho-kho), Aradhana Davis (taekwondo), Tejkaran Gahlot (athletics), Tabassum Siddiqui (shooting ball), Pankaj Pant and Santosh Verma (both throwball), Amit Singh Rajput (handball), Sandeep Chaudhary (swimming - disabled category);
Vishvamitra Awards: Vedprakash (wrestling), Tini Tare (judo), Sanjeev Gupta (kayaking & canoeing), Jagmeet Jain (kabaddi), Madhusudan Bhatt and Sanjay Yadav (both kho-kho);
Special Awards: Arif Beg (hockey), Nidhi Tiwari (volleyball), Nimish Goyal (badminton), Uday Yadav (basketball).
