BHUBANESWAR 03-Jan-2016
Eminent athletics coach Nila Madhab Deo was conferred with the 4th Kamal Ganguly Memorial Sports Award in a function held here at Saheed Sporting Ground today. Deo, who groomed a number of prominent athletes, including international sprinters Srabani Nanda and Amiya Kumar Mallick, received the award for the year 2015 along with purse of Rs 20,000.
Besides Deo, Arjuna Awardee weightlifter Bijay Kumar Satpathy was honoured with the 2nd Lifetime Achievement Award on the occasion. The awards were sponsored for the first time by Mahanadi Coalfields Limited. MCL Chief Manager Sanjib Kumar Bhuyan and Panasonic Business Head Santosh Kumar Samantaray handed over the awards in the presence of hockey Olympian Lazrus Barla, Test cricketers Debasis Mohanty, Shiv Sundar Das and Saheed Sporting Club secretary Pankaj Patnaik.
Saheed Sporting players Manoj Barik, Santosh Debkant, Rakesh Gochhayat, Kirti Ranjan Bhuyan, Priyatam Singh, Seikh Salam and Ranji star Rashmi Ranjan Parida were felicitated on the occasin. Instituted in the year 2012 by leading local cricket club Saheed Sporting as a tribute to eminent cricket coach Kamal Ganguly, the main award was earlier received by Kishore Mania (cricket), Jose Jacob (rowing) and Nanda Kishore Patnaik (football). The first Lifetime Achievement Award was conferred on former Odisha cricket captain Madan Mohan Mohanty.
ROLL OF HONOUR:
Best Coach Award: 2012: Kishore Mania (Cricket); 2013: Jose Jacob (Rowing); 2014: Nanda Kishore Patnaik (Football); 2015: Nila Madhab Deo (Athletics).
Life-time Achievement Award: 2014: Madan Mohan Mohanty (Cricket); 2015: Bijay Kumar Satpathy (Weightlifting).
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PHOTO: Nila Madhab Deo (Right) and Bijay Kumar Satpathy with the Kamal Ganguly Memorial Sports Award winners in Bhubaneswar on Jan 3, 2015.
