Odisha hockey international Dipsan Tirkey was conferred with the coveted Ekalabya Award for the year 2017 in a function held here at Xavier Institute of Management today. Badminton legend Pullela Gopichand and Odisha Sports Minister Chandra Sarathi Behera handed the award, which carried a cheque of Rs 5 lakh, memento and citation.
International sprinter Amiya Kumar Mallick and woman hockey international Deep Grace Ekka were felicitated with citations and Rs 50,000 each on the occasion. In the absence of Ekka, who is now attending national camp at Bengaluru, her brother Dinesh Ekka received citation and cheque. This is the second successive year that Deep Grace Ekka was felicitated with citation.