Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Friday honoured 237 athletes from across the state with cash awards to recognise their outstanding performance at the national and international levels. Sports and Youth Services Minister TK Behera felicitated the athletes with cash prizes in presence of the department Commissioner-cum-Secretary R Vineel Krishna and other officials.
More than Rs 1.08 crore was awarded across various sports disciplines. Out of 237 athletes awarded cash prizes, 65 were para-athletes. Congratulating the athletes present and those who joined the programme virtually, the sports minister said 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 to excel in their respective events. We have built 11 HPCs in the state for the high performance of the players, the minister said. The cash award is in recognition of the hard work and outstanding achievements of players, he said.
