Swimmer Damini K Gowda, cueist Vidya Pillai and promising athlete Arpitha M are among the prominent names that have chosen for the Ekalavya Awards for the year 2015.
Minister for Sports and Youth Services Pramodh Madhwaraj also announced the names of the winners of Karnataka Kreeda Ratna and Life Time Achievers here on Thursday.
Damini and Vidya are among 16 sportspersons selected for Ekalavya while 10 other athletes have been awarded Kreeda Ratna awards to encourage and promote indigenous and rural sports.
John Christopher Nirmal Kumar (swimming) and Shivanand R (wrestling) have won the Life-time Achievement awards for their contributions as coaches.
The Ekalavya awardees would get suits or silk sarees along with Rs 2 lakh in cash, a medal and citation. The Life-time Achievement award carries a cash prize of Rs 1.50 lakh, a medal and citation while Kreeda Ratna winners will take home Rs 1 lakh in cash, a scroll and citation. The awards function will be held in Mysuru on Friday.
Ekalavya awardees: Damini K Gowda (swimming), Arpitha M (athletics), Nithin Timmaiah (hockey),Vidya Pillai (billiards), Meghana M Sajjanar (rifle shooting), G M Nishchitha (badminton), Rajguru S (kabaddi), Dhruthi Venugopal (tennis), Pavan Shetty (body building), Krishna A Naikodi (cycling), Arvind A (basketball), Mohammed Rafeeq Holi (wrestling), Anup D’Costa (volleyball), Umesh R Khade (para swimming), Shavad J M (para athletics) and Kanchan Munnolkar (weightlifting).
Karnataka Kreeda Rathna awardees: D N Rudraswami (yoga), Poornima P (throwball), Amogha U Chachadi (atya-patya), Ranjith M P (ball badminton), Pradeep K C (kho-kho), Sumith U M (kabaddi), Anand L (wrestling), Jeevandhar Ballal (kambala), Ananad Iravatthur (kambala) and Moshappa Vittappa Gulbala (lifting heavy stones).
KAA cries foul after a snub to coach Beedu
The Karnataka Athletics Association has cried foul over veteran coach VR Beedu being overlooked for the life-time achievement award despite having the best credentials, reports DHNS.
Swimming coach John Christopher Nirmal Kumar and wrestling coach Shivanand R have been chosen for the 2015 State sports awards.
“Beedu, a highly qualified coach, deserved to get this award for his services in the field of athletics for the last four decades. Many of of the athletes trained by him have gone on to secure medals for the country.
“He was long due for this award and it’s a great “shock” for all the athletics coaching fraternity in the state that his name has been left out,” rued KAA secretary N Chandrashekar Rai.
Meanwhile, annoucing the awards in Udupi, Pramodh Madhwaraj, who is the minister for Sports and Youth Services, said that transparency had been maintained by the selection committee team headed by former India cricketer Syed Kirmani while pocking the winners.
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