Woman hockey Olympian Namita Toppo was today presented with the 28th Ekalabya Puraskar for the year 2020 in a simple and short program at an undisclosed venue. The annual award was conferred for her outstaning performance from 1 April 2018 to 31 March, 2020. The award carried a cheque of Rs 5 lakh, citation and trophy.

Besides Namita, two other sportspersons were felicitated as runners-up. They were weightlifting international Sneha Soren and badminton international Rutaparna Panda. The duo receive Rs 50,000 each along with citations in absentia.

An experienced midfielder of the Indian women hockey team, Namita has 163 caps to her name. She represented the country in several international tournaments, including the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Born on June 4, 1995 in Jauramala village of Sundargarh district, helped India win one silver, one bronze in Asian Games and one gold in Women Asia Cup. A product of Panposh Sports Hostel, Rourkela, Namita also participated in the 2018 Women Hockey World Cup in London.
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PHOTO: Woman hockey Olympian Namita Toppo with the Ekalabya Puraskar on 27 December, 2020.