- Rising swimming star Pratyaksha Ray selected for the prestigious Eklavya Puraskar 2024.
- This year, Ray won six medals – four gold, one silver and one bronze – at the Khelo India University Games held in Guwahati in February.
- The Ekalavya Puraskar Committee, comprising jury members from various fields, unanimously selected Ray for the prestigious award at a meeting.
- Ray will be given a cash prize of Rs 7 lakh (up from Rs 5 lakh earlier), and a citation at a function to be held later.
- Sprinter Dondapati Mruthyam Jayaram and badminton player Tanvi Patri will also be honoured for their outstanding performances in various international and national level competitions in their respective fields.
- Each citation winner will be given a cash prize of ₹1.5 lakh (earlier it was ₹1 lakh) along with a citation at the awards ceremony.
Ekalavya Puraskar
- In 1993, the Ekalavya Puraskar was instituted by the charitable organisation IMPaCT and is managed by IMFA, the country’s leading ferroalloy producer.
- It is now considered the most prestigious sports award of Odisha.
- This award is given every year to the young players of Odisha for their outstanding performance in the last two years.