JOIN USHockey international S K Uthappa and promising table tennis player Archana Kamath are among the 15 sporstpersons selected for the Ekalavya awards 2014.
Swimmer M Arvind, pole-vaulter Khyati Vakharia and tennis player Sharmada Balu also feature in the list of awardees who will receive their prize from Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at a function at Senate Bhavan, Manasa Gangotri, here on Tuesday.
The Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports also announced four coaches -- Prabhakar Devang (hockey), H Chandrasekhar (football), Sridhar Kumar (kabaddi) and I Amal Das (boxing) -- for life-time achievement award while ten sportspersons have been named for the Karnataka Kreeda Ratna prize, instituted to encourage rural sports.
Ekalavya award carries a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh and a memento while life-time awardees will receive Rs 1.5 lakh and a memento. Kreeda Ratna award carries Rs 1 lakh and a memento.
The government will also provide financial support to sportspersons in their quest for achieving bigger laurels in the world of sport. An amount of Rs 1.48 crore will be disbursed among 41 sportspersons.
BR Nikshep (Tennis, Rs 8.5 lakh), Krishna Naykodi (Cycling, Rs 7.5 lakh), Rashmika Rajan (Rs 6.5 lakh), Rakesh Manpat (Shooting, Rs 6.5 lakh), Vakharia (Athletics, Rs 5.5 lakh) are among the cash awardees.
List of winners: Ekalavya: M Arvind (Swimming), Akash Aradhya (Roller skating), Khyati Vakharia (Athletics), S K Uthappa (Hockey), Malaprabha Jadhav (Judo), Twisha K (Canoeing & Kayaking), K Purushothama (Shooting), Vineeth Manuel (Badminton), O Sushmitha Pawar (Kabaddi), Sharmada Balu (Tennis), Archana Kamath (Table Tennis), Nisha Joseph (Volleyball), S Lokesh (Gymnastics), Laskhmana C Kurani (Cycling), M Niranjan (Para Swimming).
Life-time achievement: Prabhakar Devang (Hockey), H Chandrasekhar (Football), Shridhar Kumar (Kabaddi), I Amal Das (Boxing).
Karnataka Kreeda Ratna: M R Kavya (Ball badminton), Vinod Rathod (Atya-Patya), Dundappa Dasannavar (Mallakhamb), B K Roopashree (Kabaddi), Karthik Kaati (Mud Wrestling), Yogesh (Kho Kho), Anil Kumar S Shettar (Yoga), Jayakar Madiwal (Kambala), K K Sukumar Shetty (Kambala), Ibrahimsaab M Arab (Stone lifting).