Eminent Odisha hockey coach Amulya Kumar Behera and former youth international football goalkeeper Bharati Krishna Mishra were honoured with Kamal Ganguly Memorial Sports Award for the year 2023 in a function held at Saheed Sporting Club Ground in Bhubaneswar today.

Behera and Mishra were conferred with the Outstanding Coach of the Year Award and Lifetime Achievement Award respectively. The former received a cheque of Rs 15,000 and the latter Rs 20,000. The awards also carried trophies and citations.

Odisha Cricket Association vice-president Pankaj Lochan Mohanty graced the function as chief guest. Odisha cricket legends Debasis Mohanty and Rashmi Ranjan Parida, Saheed Sporting Club secretary Pankaj Patnaik, Maruti Estate India Limited Managing Director Jitendra Prasad Singh and Bhubaneswar Athletics Association secretary Sourya Ranjan Parija were present on the occasion.

The annual award for outstanding coach was instituted in 2013 by Bhubaneswar-based premier cricket club Saheed Sporting in the memory of eminent cricket coach Kamal Ganguly, who passed away in November 2006.

Lifetime Achievement Award was added in the year 2015. The award was not conferred in the year 2017 and 2023, while it was combined in the year 2020-21. Leading real estate company, Maruti Estate India Private Limited has been sponsoring the award since its inception.

Behera, who serves as a coach of the State Sports Department, helped Odisha teams win medals in many national tournaments. He groomed scores of national and international players, including Ignace Tirkey, Prabodh Tirkey, William Xalxo, Sudeep Chirmako, Sunil Jojo, Amandeep Lakra and Sunit Lakra.

Bharati Mishra was part of the Indian team that participated in the Youth Asian Football Championship at Tokyo in 1965. He represented Odisha in Subrat Cup in 1960, Santosh Trophy in 1967 and 1968. He was also one the selectors for the Indian football team for the 1982 Asian Games.

ROLL OF HONOUR:

Outstanding Coach Award: For the year 2012: Kishore Mania (Cricket), 2013: Jose Jacob (Rowing), 2014: Nanda Kishore Patnaik (Football), 2015: Nila Madhab Deo (Athletics), 2017: Ashok Kumar Mishra (Gymnastics), 2018: Rashmita Mohanty (Cricket), 2019: Siba Prasad Das (Para Badminton), 2020-21: Hari Prasad Pattanayak (Karate), 2023: Amulya Kumar Behera (Hockey).

Lifetime Achievement Award: For the year 2014: Madan Mohan Mohanty (Cricket), 2015: Bijay Kumar Satpathy (Weightlifting), 2017: Arupananda Routray (Basketball), 2018: Ashokananda Jena (Cricket), 2019: Ashok Kumar Mohanty (Administration), 2020-21: Peter Tirkey (Hockey), 2023: Bharati Krishna Mishra (Football).
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PHOTO: Kamal Ganguly Memorial Sports awardee Amilya Kumar Behera and Bharati Krishna Mishra pose along with guests and members of Saheed Sporting Club in Bhubaneswar on 25 February 2024.