Bhubaneswar: Ace Odisha sprinter Srabani Nanda was on Saturday felicitated by the state’s Sports & Youth Services Department for her outstanding performance in the 37th National Games recently and the National Open meet.
Srabani received Rs 5 lakh and Rs 3 lakh for winning gold in 200m and silver in 100m, respectively, at the National Games. She was also awarded Rs 60,000 and Rs 40,000 for gold and silver medals, respectively, in the 61st National Open Championship 2022, and Rs 40,000 for silver medal in the 62nd National Open Championship 2023.
“We are proud to felicitate talented athlete Srabani Nanda. Due to dedication and hard work, she has not only earned a medal for herself but has also made the whole of Odisha proud,” minister for Sports & Youth Services Tusharkanti Behera said at a felicitation function organised at Kalinga Stadium.
Srabani thanked Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik and the Sports department for the cash awards and said that the infrastructure like indoor athletics, temperature-controlled aquatic centre, FIFA standard football stadium and training centre will help in producing many more international sportspersons from Odisha in the coming days.
Sports & Youth Services Secretary R Vineel Krishna extended his best wishes to Srabani and assured all kinds of support from the state government.
Director Sports Siddhartha Das said that Srabani is a strong example of how success can be achieved through hard work and dedication.
Srabani’s coach Nilamadhab Deo and physio Arjita Lenka were also felicitated.