Woman Hockey star Subhadra to receive Ekalabya Award

Bhubaneswar, May 15 (UNI) International woman Hockey player Subhadra Pradhan will receive the prestigious 13th Ekalabya Award for the year 2005 for her contribution to the field of sports.

The Ekalabya Award Committee of Indian Metals Public Charitable Trust(IMPaCT),the trust managed by Indian Metals Ferro Alloys Group, (IMFA) selected Subhadra Pradhan at a meeting held here yesterday She has been selected for the award for her brilliant performances in international arena for the two consecutive years and will receive a cash prize of Rs 75,000 besides a memento for her achievements.

Ms Pradhan has represented India in the Afro-Asian Games(Hockey) Championship in May 2003 in which India clinched the gold medal. She also represented India in junior Asian Cup Championship as captain and played the senior Asian cup hockey championship which won a gold medal.

Apart from Subhadra Pradhan, international volleyball player Ms Jhililata Sena and footballer Ms Sasmita Malik would be felicitated with citations and a cash prize of Rs.10,000 each for their outstanding performances in their respective fields, a release from IMFA group said.

Ekalabya award, instituted by IMPaCT in 1993, has come a long way to be recognised as the most prestigious sports award of Orissa.

Athlete Rachita Panda, Cricketer Shib Sundar Das, Debashis Mohanty, international hockey players like Dilip Tirkey, Probodh Tirkey, Ignace Tirkey, William Xalxo had already received the award in the past.

UNI