Bengaluru :
Governor Vajubhai Vala congratulated the top athletes and coaches of Karnataka including Asiad gold medalists Ashwini Akkunji (athletics) and Sushmitha Pawar (kabaddi) on Wednesday for winning the Karnataka Olympic Association (KOA) awards 2014 and said more laurels could be won through the combined efforts of state government and KOA.
Addressing the gathering in Raj Bhavan, Vala said the state can be proud of its achievements in sports. “I’m happy to note that there are seven players in the Indian hockey team from Karnataka. Likewise, there are many others from the state who have done well at the international level,” the governor said after giving away KOA’s special awards to hockey players SV Sunil, Nikkin Thimmaiah, VR Raghunath, discus thrower Vikas Gowda, badminton player Ashwini Ponnappa, pistol shooter PN Prakash and other medal winners at the Incheon Asian Games.
The governor also recalled the Gujarat model of sports development which is now rated highly. “There is competition at the village, district and zonal level before they reach the state level and winners at all these levels are rewarded,” said Vala, who also served as the finance minister of Gujarat.
He also exhorted all youngsters to take up sports. “Today we see the absence of good character in many youngsters and that’s why sport is important as it helps in character building,” he said.
Chief minister Siddaramaiah stayed clear of committing anything more on the sports cess, despite being prodded by KOA president Govindaraj, but reaffirmed the government’s commitment to support sportspersons. “I’ve never said no whenever the sportspersons have come to me for help. We are improving the infrastructure in all the districts and that will help athletes from rural areas,” he said.
Ace badminton doubles player Ashwini Ponnappa was happy to receive the award in what was a big year for her. “It was a satisfying year as we have improved a lot winning medals in ABC, Uber Cup and Commonwealth Games. It is going to be another busy season from January with the World Championship in August,” Ashwini said.
Middle distance runner Ashwini was all smiles after collecting two awards. The lanky athlete said the awards are a big motivation to improve further. “This was a big surprise I was never expecting it,” she said.
The KOA also honoured several coaches including N Lingappa (athletics), DY Biradar (athletics), Manoharan G (boxing), Aslam Khan (football), Jude Felix (hockey) and Vasant Madhav (tennis). TOI’s principal photographer Syed Asif also received the honour.
Earlier, Govindaraj said the government has cleared the proposal for the construction of the Olympic Bhawan at the Sree Kanteerava stadium. “Karnataka will only be the second state after Andhra Pradesh to have their Olympic Bhawan,” he said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Sports> More Sports / by Biju Babu Cyriac, TNN / November 28th, 2014
