It’s better late than never. After almost six years, the State Sports Department is all set to announce a total amount of Rs 1.09 crore for sportspersons’ achievement incentive and felicitation cash awards in June.
Altogether 113 players would get a total cash award of Rs 1.02 crore and Padmini Rout to get the highest incentive. Similarly, 15 sportspersons will be felicitated with total cash awards of Rs 7.25 lakh. Olympian Anuradha Biswal will get the maximum Rs 3 lakh for her completion of 25 years athletic career. Biswal will get total cash prize of Rs 5 lakh.
Chess queen WGM Padimini Rout will get highest sports incentive of Rs 7.5 lakh and Paralympics athlete Markanda Ready to get Rs 5.45 lakh. Similarly, another chess star Debasis Mohanty and Paralympics shuttlers Siba Prasad Das would get Rs 5.15 and 4.25 lakh respectively. Karatekas Valina Valentina will get Rs 3.99 lakh.
“Definitely I am extremely happy as my State recognised me for my 25 years of contribution. Also I feel that the department must disperse the incentive cash awards every year so that the players will be motivated”, said Anuradha.
“The sports incentive cash awards was formed in a motive to motivate the players to do better in future, but unfortunately the State Sports Department will distribute the cash awards for the period of 2007-2012 in a bulk will not fulfill the propose,” said a senior athlete.
Top 20 cash award winners (2007-12): Padmini Rout (Chess, Rs 7.5 lakh), Markanda Ready (Paralympics, athletics, Rs 5.45 lakh), Debasis Das (chess, Rs 5.15 lakh), Siba Prasad Das (Paralympics, badminton, Rs 4.25 lakh), Valina Valentina (karate, Rs 3.99 lakh), Pramila Krisani (weightlifting, Rs 3.75 lakh), Srabani Nanda (athletics, Rs 3.19 lakh), Sangeeta Singh (powerlifting, Rs 3 lakh), Pratima Puhana (rowing, Rs 2.41 lakh), Sidhant Mohapatra (chess, Rs 2.35 lakh), Minati Sethi (weightlifting, Rs 2.26 lakh), Anup Deo Toppo (weightlifting, Rs 2.16 lakh), Anuradha Biswal (athletics, Rs 2 lakh), Pravasini Dwibedy (rowing, Rs 1.8 lakh), Nurul Hossain Khan (Paralympics, badminton, Rs 1.75 lakh), Shriyanka Sadangi (shooting, Rs 1.70 lakh), K Ravi Kumar (weightlifting, Rs 1.70 lakh), Rakesh Kumar Patra (gymnastics, Rs 1.65 lakh), Parmila Minz (rowing, Rs 1.65 lakh), Samita Barik (powerlifting, Rs 1.6 lakh).
Sportspersons to be felicitated: Anuradha Biswal (athletics, Rs 3 lakhs), Ignece Tirkey (hockey, Rs 50,000) Birendra lakra (hockey, Rs 50.000), K Ravi Kumar (weightlifting, Rs 50,000), Nataraj Behera (cricket, Rs 25,000), Sasmita Mallick, Alochana Senapati, lochana Munda, Supriya Routary, Pinky Bompal Magar (all women footballers, Rs 25,000 each), Madhuri Meheta, Rosanara Parwin (both women cricketer, Rs 25,000 each), Md Jafar Iqbal, Pankaj Bhue (visually impaired, cricket, Rs 25,000 each) and Priyanka Parida (snow boarding, Rs 25,000).