Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Friday felicitated 237 sportspersons from across the State in recognition of their outstanding performance at the national and international level.
Sports and Youth Services Minister Tusharkanti Behera felicitated the athletes with cash prizes in the presence of department secretary R. Vineel Krishna here.
Cash prizes of Rs 1.08 crore were awarded to the athletes across various sporting disciplines. Out of the 237 athletes who were awarded cash prizes, 172 were in the general category, while 65 were in the para category, officials said.
“We have been able to build infrastructure for players to excel in their respective events. We have built 11 high performance centres (HPCs) in the state for the benefit of the athletes,” Behera said.
He said that the state Government has come up with a number of schemes for the betterment of sports and sportspersons. We have been able to build infrastructure for players and help them excel in their respective events.
“We have built 11 High Performance Centres in the state for players. Yesterday, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik visited Kalinga Stadium and laid foundation stone of 89 indoor stadiums and inaugurated a number of major sports projects. The cash award is in recognition of your hard work and outstanding achievement. You all are role models for the younger generation,” the Minister added.