Tennis player Debasis Sahoo wins 31st Ekalabya Puraskar for 2023

Bhubaneswar: International Tennis Player Debasis Sahoo has bagged the prestigious 31st Ekalabya Puraskar for the year 2023.

The Ekalabya Puraskar Committee comprising of jury members drawn from different walks of life were unanimous in selecting Debasis for the prestigious award in a meeting held here today.

Debasis, the rising Tennis player who has 4 international and 11 titles at the national level emerged as the clear winner this year. He will get a cash award of Rs.5 lakhs along with a citation at the Ekalabya Puraskar award giving ceremony to be held at a later date.

Besides Debasis, two other sportspersons will also be felicitated for their remarkable performances in various International & National level in their respective fields. They are Athlete Bapi Hnasda and Weigtlifter Ms Jyoshna Sabar. Both will receive a cash prize of Rs.1 lakh each along with citations.

Ekalabya Puraskar, instituted by IMPaCT, in the year 1993 and managed by IMFA, the leading Ferro Alloys producer in the country, has come a long way to be recognized as the most prestigious sports award of Odisha, drawing parallels with many national awards.

A mere look at the career graph of many of the past awardees confirms that over the years, it has been a moral booster for the best sporting talents in the State. The award is given every year to young sportspersons of Odisha in recognition of their outstanding performance in the preceeding two years.

Announcing the names of the award winners, Baijayant Panda, Chairperson of Ekalabya Puraskar Committee and Trustee of IMPaCT said, “IMPaCT has been in continuous pursuit to recognize and foster excellence in sports and literature besides contributing to the general welfare of the society at large. Ekalabya Puraskar is instituted to encourage and inspire young sports persons of the State to perform at national and international arena.”

The proceedings today were organized by Eklabya Puraskar Commitee Convenor Kishore Mohan Mohanty.