Namita Toppo bags prestigious Ekalabya Puruskar 2020
By Nalini Sahu
Bhubaneswar, Nov.8: India’s top hockey player Namita Toppo has bagged the prestigious 28th Ekalabya Puraskar for the year 2020.
The Ekalabya Puraskar Committee comprising of jury members drawn from different walks of life were unanimous in selecting Ms Toppo for the prestigious award in a meeting held here on Sunday.
Ms Toppo, the mercurial international hockey player who has represented the nation in almost all international tournaments and has been credited with many wins for women’s hockey team of India from April 2018 to March 2020, emerged as the clear winner this year.
She will get a cash award of Rs 5 lakh along with a citation at the Ekalabya Praskar programme to be held under the strict observation of Covid restrictions.
Besides Ms Toppo, two other sportspersons will also be felicitated for their remarkable performances in various international and national levels in their respective fields. They are women weightlifter Sneha Soren and the badminton player Ms Rutaparna Panda.
Both will receive a cash prize of Rs. 50,000ach along with citations. The date for Ekalabya Praskar function will be announced later.
Ekalabya Puraskar, instituted by IMPaCT managed by IMFA, a leading Ferro Alloys producer in the country, in the year 1993, has come a long way to be recognized as the most prestigious sports award of Odisha, drawing parallels with many national awards.
