Sports Authority of India holds its first-ever Institutional Awards ceremony

The Sports Authority of India gave out its first-ever Institutional Awards to a total of 162 athletes and 84 coaches for their performance in national and international competitions.

Cash awards amounting to Rs 85.02 Lakhs were conferred on the awardees during the ceremony, which was attended by Sports Minister Anurag Thakur and Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Nisith Pramanik, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

"I heartily congratulate all athletes and coaches who have been awarded today...a host of facilities are being extended to athletes. Every athlete is an inspiration for his generation," Thakur said in a release.

The categories of awards included Outstanding Award (for National level achievements) and Best Award (for International level achievements). The awards acknowledged the exceptional performance of the SAI athletes and coaches under the various sports promotion schemes at the national and international levels from 2016.

The awards thus have been granted to the deserving candidates for the years of 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20.

Stressing that sports are an integral part of the National Education Policy, Thakur said: "When the sporting achievements of a student are announced in his or her school, it inspires other students to look beyond just academics and include sports in their life. That is the power of an athlete. I am also glad that sport has become an integral part of the National Education Policy and therefore is a part of every student's life now."

The selection committee comprised senior SAI officials as well as eminent sportspersons, who streamlined the nominations received from the Regional Directors of the various SAI National Centres of Excellence.

"It's a momentous occasion to see the awards given out in the year of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. I wish all the success to the champions," Pramanik said.

The awardees have also been given a specially tailor-made blazer along with a citation.