Ekalabya Puraskar-2022 announced, Swasti Singh is winner

Pyari Xaxa & Shilanand Lakra are citation winners

By Chittaranjan Beura

Bhubaneswar, Sept.19: International Cyclist Ms. Swasti Singh has bagged the prestigious 30th Ekalabya Puraskar for the year 2022.

The Ekalabya Puraskar Committee comprising of jury members drawn from different walks of life were unanimous in selecting Ms. Singh for the prestigious award in a meeting held here on Sunday.

Ms. Swasti Singh, the mercurial Cyclist who has bagged 2 golds and 2 sliver medals at the national level represented the state in several national events and have been credited with best individual brilliance from 01st April 2020 to 31st March 2022, emerged as the clear winner this year. She will get a cash award of Rs.5 lakh along with a citation at the Ekalabya Puraskar program to be held under observation of Covid restrictions.

Besides Ms. Singh, two other sportspersons will also be felicitated for their remarkable performances in various International and National level in their respective fields. They are; International Football player Ms. Pyari Xaxa and the International Hockey player Mr. Shilanand Lakra.

Both will receive a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 each along with citations.

The date for Ekalabya Puraskar function will be announced later.

Ekalabya Puraskar, instituted by IMPaCT managed by IMFA, the leading Ferro Alloys producer in the country, 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. A mere look at the career graph of many of the past awardees confirms that over the years, it has been a morale 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 preceeding two years.

Announcing the names of the award winners, Shri Baijayant Panda, Chairperson of Ekalabya Puraskar Committee 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 Puraskar is instituted to encourage and inspire young sports persons to perform at national and international arena.”