Divya, Akshay, Himanshi, Nayan, Kashikar to be honoured

Former India midfielder, Dronacharya awardee, and national women’s hockey coach Harendra Singh will grace the occasion as the chief guest. Sunil Raisoni, Chairman, Raisoni Education, will preside over thr function.

This year, Indian women’s chess star and Olympiad gold medalist Divya Deshmukh, Vidarbha Ranji Trophy skipper Akshay Wadkar, India U-19 hockey player Himanshi Gawande, junior international athlete Nayan Sarde will be rewarded for their achievements.

Similarly, senior vice president of Maharashtra Badminton Association, Badminton Association of India’s tournament committee member and secretary of Nagpur District Badminton Association Mangesh Kashikar will be honored for his contribution in the development of badminton. Centre Point School, Amravati Road Bypass (Dabha), in Schools and Mahal’s CP & Berar College will be honoured for their work in sports promotion, informs Paritosh Pramanik, Secretary, SJAN.

On the occasion, Siddhesh Sharma, senior, Vice-President, Baidyanath and Deaven Dasture, director The South Public School, will share the dais as guests of honour.

Awardees and their achievements:

Divya Deshmukh (Best Senior Sportswoman): Nagpur's Golden Girl & Women Grand Master (WGM) Divya Deshmukh played a pivotal role in the Indian women team’s historic title triumph at the Chess Olympiad at Budapest, Hungary, in September. Divya also won an individual gold medal in the Olympiad.

Akshay Wadkar (Best Senior Sportsman): Under the Vidarbha Ranji Trophy skipper Akshay Wadkar Vidarbha finished runners-up last season in Ranji Trophy. In the current season, Vidarbha have won four matches out of five and are on top place with 28 points.

Himanshi Gawande (Best Junior Sportswoman): Nagpur's Himanshi has represented Maharashtra at the junior nationals on three occasions and played for Vidarbha once. She secured a berth in the junior India contingent as first reserve player for the Junior Asia Cup in Oman. The team won gold medal on Sunday.

Nayan Sarde (Best Junior Sportsman): Buldhana sprinter Nayan Sarde became the city’s first runner to represent India in the U-20 World Athletics Championships in Lima, Peru, in August. The 20-year-old secured his first international medal in Chennai when Nayan clinched the silver medal in the 110m hurdles at the South Asian Athletics Federation (SAAF) Junior Championships.

Mangesh Kashikar (Best Sports Organiser): Mangesh Kashikar is the senior vice president Maharashtra Badminton Association (MBA), Badminton Association of India’s (BAI) tournament committee member and secretary of Nagpur District Badminton Association (NDBA).

Centre Point School, Amravati Road Bypass, Dabha (Best School) and CP & Berar College Mahal (Best College) will be honoured for promoting sports.