Former woman sprinter Pranati Mishra, who along with Shantimol Philips, Kutty Saramma and PT Usha, bagged the 4x400m relay silver medal at the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, was conferred with the Biju Patnaik Sports Award for Lifetime Achievement, which carried a cheque of Rs 4 lakh.

Woman karateka Loma Swain, who became the first ever Deaflympic medallist of Odisha, winning the bronze medal in 50kg kumite event at the 25th Summer Deaflympic Games in Tokyo last year, bagged the Best Sportsperson of the Year Award and a cheque of Rs 3 lakh.

The Best Upcoming Athlete (Junior) of the Year Award was shared by sprinter Pratik Maharana and para archer Payal Nag. A multiple medallist at the South Asian Junior and Senior Athletics Championships, 19-year-old Maharana also won the 200m gold medal with a new meet record at the 40th Junior National Athletics Championship earlier this year in Bhubaneswar.

Only archer in the world without any hand or leg, Payal cornered glory bagging two gold and one bronze medal at the World Archery Para Series earlier this year. In the absence of Payal, her mother Janata Nag received the award today.

The awards for excellence in coaching and sports journalism were claimed by Gopal Krushna Das (Weightlifting) and Shakti Prakash Nanda (The Samaya). World Athletics bronze level referee Prabodha Kumar Mohanty bagged the Best Technical Official Award, while the Best Sports Promoting Organisation Award went to Sambalpur-based football club Samaleswari Sporting, which caused a historic upset in the Durand Cup Football Tournament, defeating Mohammedan Sporting 3-2 earlier this month in Kolkata.

Samaleswari Sporting chairman and Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra received the award on behalf of the club. Award winners in each category, barring Lifetime Achievement and Best Sportsperson of the Year, were given Rs 2 lakh each. All the awardees also received statute, plaque 

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Majhi reiterated the commitment of his government to create world-class sports infrastructure and training facilities in the State. “Ultra-modern stadiums in 314 blocks at a cost of Rs 4,124 crores, a world-class sports complex at Gothapatna in Bhubaneswar and five regional hubs, including Baji Rout Regional Sports Hub in Dhenkanal, are being established,” he said.

“Sports equipment has been distributed in 485 villages of 10 Maoist-affected villages. Odisha has bagged the rights to host the 2028 Asian and World Athletics Indoor Championships for the first time in the country,” the CM added.

CM Majhi also handed over Biju Patnaik Bravery Award 2025 along with a cheque of Rs 1 lakh each to Soumya Ranjan Behera (Nayagarh district), Late Nila Madhab Panda and Sunil Kumar Ray (both Jajpur district) on the occasion.
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TOP: Biju Patnaik Sports & Bravery awardees pose with Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Sports Minister Suryabanshi Suraj in Bhubaneswar on 29 August 2026.

RIGHT: Pranati Mishra poses with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Bhubaneswar on 29 August 2026.