Young cricketer Rishabh Pant and World Championship silver medalist wrestler Bajrang Punia were honored with the Best Player of the Year award at the Delhi Sports Journalists Association (DSJA) annual awards distribution ceremony in Delhi on Thursday.
Indian women’s hockey team captain Rani Rampal and shooter Manu Bhakar were adjudged the best player of the year in the women’s category, while Sydney Olympic bronze medalist weightlifters Karnam Malleswari and Dronacharya awardee wrestling coach Raj Singh were awarded lifetime achievement awards. . Jaspal Rana and Rishabh Pant’s childhood coach Tarak Sinha, who played a key role in nurturing India’s young shooters, were given the Coach of the Year award.
The awards were presented by Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Batra, former general secretary Randhir Singh, former hockey captain Zafar Iqbal, JK Tire Motorsports chief Sanjay Sharma, former shooter Murad Ali Khan and hockey Olympian Harvinder Singh.
Pant, the wicket-keeper batsman, made his Test debut last year and produced a brilliant example of his skill by scoring a century in the odd conditions of England and Australia. He said that such an award will boost his morale to perform better in future. Pant said, “For young players like us, such respect matters a lot. It will definitely inspire me to perform better. ‘
Poonia, who won gold medals at the Commonwealth and Asian Games last year, said her goal is to win a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. So far no Indian wrestler has won the gold medal in the Olympics. He said, ‘This award will inspire me to work harder. I will try my best to be the first Indian wrestler to win a gold medal in Olympics. That is my goal right now.
On this occasion, Divij Sharan (tennis), Meenakshi Pahuja (swimming), Abhishek Verma (archery), Seema Yadav (marathon) and Deeksha Dagar (golf) were awarded special prizes.
