Odisha Government today felicitated sportspersons of the State with special cash awards for their outstanding performance across various disciplines at the Tennis Centre, Kalinga Sports Complex, Bhubaneswar. According to a press release from the Department of Sports & Youth Services (DSYS) a total of Rs 56,93,000 was awarded to recipients of 269 medals.

Present at the felicitation ceremony were, Chairman of the Hockey Promotion Council of Odisha (HPCO) chairman Dilip Tirkey, State Sports Director Siddhartha Das and Hockey Promotion Council of Odisha CEO Deepankar Mohapatra.

The athletes felicitated were from over 20 disciplines including, athletics, swimming, rugby, hockey, badminton, weightlifting, karate, volleyball, beach volleyball, tennis, shooting, yogasana etc for various competitions, including national and international events. However, the names of the sportspersons and the amount they received was not disclosed by the DSYS.

Amongst the athletes felicitated was swimming ace Pratyasa Ray who received a cash award of Rs 3,82,000 for her impressive haul of 12 medals across the recently concluded Khelo India University Games 2023 and the All-India University Games 2023.  Notably, Pratyasa Ray also emerged as the most successful athlete of the KIUG with four gold, one silver and one bronze medal.