Bengaluru: CM Siddaramaiah urged sportspersons to bring in more laurels to the country at the 15th Karnataka Olympics Association Awards in the city on Monday. Sixteen athletes from various disciplines and three veterans were felicitated for their achievements.
Popular names in the awardees list included local lad S Chikkarangappa for golf, track and field athlete, HM Jyothi and team India women’s basketball captain, HM Bhandavya.
The award carries a cash prize of Rs. 50,000 with the veterans getting Rs. 10,000. The chief minister said the athletes should show absolute dedication in their field and come up with result-oriented performances and gun for Olympic glory. “Winning medals is not just a way of gaining individual recognition, but it’s also a matter of pride and honour to the country and the state,” said Siddaramaiah.
“These awards are a way of showing our support and providing encouragement to upcoming, talented sportspersons in Karnataka to bring more accolades to the country in sport,” said K Govindraj, President of the KOA.
Olympics, my main goal: Chikka
For local lad S Chikkarangappa, the award is special. “It’s always a great feeling to receive an award, this one, especially from the Chief Minister. Hopefully, we can make our country and the state proud in the upcoming competitions and the Olympics.
“For me personally, I am preparing the Asian tour and my focus is on that now, and then comes the preparation for the Olympics which is my main goal,” he signed off.
List of awardees: HM Jyothi (Athletics), Shikha Gautam (Badminton), HM Bhandavya (Basketball), SK Uthappa (Hockey), S Chikkarangappa (Golf), Damini Gowda (Swimming), Archana Kamath (Table Tennis), Usha Rani (Kabbadi), M Jadhav (Judo), Vinayak Rokhade (Volleyball), Naveen Chandra (Weightlifting), Dhruti Venugopal (Tennis), Anitha R (Taekwondo), Mayur Bhanu (Shooting), Sandesh Uppar (Cycling).
Veterans: BJ Kariappa (Field Hockey), G Mohan (Press Photographer) and Vinaya Hegde (Sports Promotion)
