City skater bags Ekalavya award

Pragna H A will receive the prestigious award this year

City based skater Pragna H A will be awarded the Ekalavya Award for the year 2011, after the High Court struck down a government order, which had conferred the award to Mangalore-based roller skater Sharanya Mahesh.

Based on the documents availed through the Right To Information (RTI), HC judge Abdul Nazeer overruled the decision of the government of conferring the award to Sharanya. Futher more, it ruled that the Ekalavya Award for 2011, should be presented to Pragna during the upcoming National Sports Day celebrations on August 29, 2012.

According to RTI documents, Pragna had scored 625 points in the skating during the time of recommendation. However, it was wrongly mentioned as 455. At the same time Sharanya had secured 315 points.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Pragna’s father,  H J Anand Kumar said that despite have scored 455 according to the Karnataka State Roller Skating Association (KSRSA), the Ekalavya Award was conferred on Sharanya.

However, with the HC direction has brought smiles on the face of Pragna, who recently completed her BE from Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering. 

During the argument, Pragna’s advocate Namitha said that Sharanya wasn’t eligible for the award as she had not met criteria. 

One of the criteria was that the player should have represented the state for five years. However, no proof was available on Sharanya representing the state in 2007.

Pragna has to her credit represented India at the Asian Games held at Ganghzou, China. She won two bronze medals in the 14th Asian Championship organised in Taiwan.