Kozhikode, Apr 8 (PTI): Cricketer Robin Uthappa was on Thursday presented with the National Excellence award instituted by IIM-Kozhikode for his contribution in the field of cricket.
This is the 3rd edition of the award, presented annually to eminent personalities for their contribution to the world of sports, and to commemorate IIMK”s iconic Calicut Half Marathon which is now into its 12th year.
The event, which is going completely virtual for the first time is scheduled to be held from April 9-11, according to a IIM-K release.
Presenting the award, IIM-K Director Prof. Debashis Chatterjee recounted Uthappa”s contribution to the game of cricket and how he ably carried his team forward by demonstrating resilience, focus and determination – a quality that resonates with the legend of Arjuna.
Traits like Focus, Flexibility and Freedom were the idea behind constituting this national award, he said and recalled the iconic moment when Uthappa tipped his cap and saluted the crowd after hitting the stumps in In India”s famous bowl-out win over arch-rivals Pakistan in 2007 T20 World Cup, as one of the most memorable events in the game of cricket, an IIM-K release said.
Paralympian and Arjuna Awardee Dr Deepa Malik and Babita Kumari Phogat, renowned wrestler are the previous winners of the award, instituted two years ago.
Uthappa expressed gratitude about his debut and relived the days when he shared the stage with cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag among other Indian cricket legends.
Sharing with the IIM-K community the importance of not giving up, especially when the chips are down, he said one should always have self-belief in taking challenges head-on one step at a time, in order to achieve their goals.
Calicut Half Marathon is the largest student-driven marathon organised every year for the past 11 years.
The marathon aims in contributing towards different social issues that can bring a phenomenal change when assimilated together.
It is this belief that the students of IIM Kozhikode wish to encourage and promote through the marathon.
IIM-Kozhikode Calicut Half Marathon in its 12th edition is bringing the theme ”Better Together United Despite Distances,” the release added.
source: http://www.outlookindia.com / Outlook / Home> The News Scroll / PTI / April 08th, 2021
