Gymnastics National coach Ashok Kumar Mishra and former basketball international Arupa Nanda Routray have been chosen for the Kamal Ganguly Memorial Sports Award for the year 2016. This was announced by Saheed Sporting Club secretary Pankaj Patnaik today.

Mishra, who groomed a number of national and international gymnasts, would be conferred with the award as outstanding coach. Routray, who played for Odisha, Services and India before doing duty as National coach, would receive the Kamal Ganguly Memorial Award for life-time achievement. The awards would be sponsored for the first time by Maruti Estate India Private Limited.

Instituted in the year 2012 by leading local cricket club Saheed Sporting as a tribute to eminent cricket coach Kamal Ganguly, the main award was earlier received by Kishore Mania (cricket), Jose Jacob (rowing), Nanda Kishore Patnaik (football) and Nila Madhab Deo (athletics). Past recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award include former Odisha cricket captain Madan Mohan Mohanty and weightlifting Arjuna Awardee Bijay Kumar Satpathy.

ROLL OF HONOUR:
Best Coach Award: 2012- Kishore Mania (Cricket); 2013- Jose Jacob (Rowing); 2014- Nanda Kishore Patnaik (Football); 2015- Nila Madhab Deo (Athletics); 2016- Ashok Kumar Mishra (Gymnastics).
Life-time Achievement Award: 2014- Madan Mohan Mohanty (Cricket); 2015- Bijay Kumar Satpathy (Weightlifting); 2016- Arupa Nanda Routray (Basketball)