By Our Correspondent
BHUBANESWAR: IMFA Group sponsored 27th Ekalabya Award conferred on International weightlifter Jhilli Dalabehera at a glittering function held here at Hotel Mayfair on Friday evening.
Babita Phogat, the Dhakkad Girl, who is also the Gold Medalist in 2014 Commonwealth Games, graced the Award giving ceremony as Chief Guest while Odisha’s 1st Arjun Awardee cyclist Minati Mohapatra attended as Guest of Honour.
Earlier a Jury panel which included BJP National Vice-President-Spokesperson and former MP Baijayant ‘Jay’ Panda , also Trustee of IMPaCT, senior Indian Forest Service Officer, Pusazhule Mekro, Dr Omkar Nath Mohanty, former VC , BPUT, JP Mishra, Chief PRO, East Coast Railways, Sanatan Sahoo, Assistant Director, Odisha Sports and Youth Services Department, RP Pani, Senior Government Coach, Suresh Swain, Chief Sub-Editor(Sports) Sambad and S Maqbool Ali had declared Jhilli as winner.
The winner Dalabehera Jhilli, with 2 Gold, 3 Silver and 1 bronze medals in international weightlifting events between 01st April 2017 to 31st March 2019 emerged as the clear winner this year. She will get a cash award of Rs.5 lakh along with a citation at the Ekalabya Award function. Besides Ms. Dalabehera, two other sportspersons will also be felicitated for their remarkable performances in various International & National level in their respective fields. They are; women Football player Jabamani Tudu and the famous Hockey talent Namita Toppo. Both will receive a cash prize of Rs. 50,000/- each along with citations.
Baijayant Panda , Former MP (LS-RS) and Trustee of IMPaCT said “IMPaCT has been in continuous pursuit to recognize and foster excellence in sports and Literature besides contributing to the general welfare of the society at large.
Ekalabya award is instituted to encourage and inspire young sports persons to perform at national and international arena. Ekalabya Award, instituted by IMPaCT in the year 1993 has come a long way to be recognized as the most prestigious sports award of Odisha, drawing parallels with many national awards, Panda, who is also BJP’s National VP and Spokesperson said.
A mere look at the career graph of some of the past awardees confirms that over the years, it has been a moral booster for the best sporting talents in the State. The award is given every year to young sportspersons of Odisha in recognition of their outstanding performance in the preceding two years.
