Purnima bags Biju Patnaik Sportsperson of Year Award

Controversy and protests made no difference as the State Government conferred the Biju Patnaik Sports Award for the year 2015 in a special function here Jayadev Bhawan today. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik presented the award in four categories. He also felicitated six Odisha athletes who represented the country in the recent Rio Olympic Games.

Woman heptathlete Purnima Hembram bagged the Biju Patnaik Sports Award as the Sportsperson of the Year, which carried a cheque of Rs 2 lakh and citation. The award for `Excellence in Coaching’ was jointly conferred on P Dharma Rao (weightlifting) and Chitrasen Patra (football), who became richer by Rs 1 lakh each.