The Odisha State government has won the Best State for the Promotion of Sport honour in the 2021 edition of the Sportstar Aces Awards.
This is the State's third win in a row at the Sportstar annual awards, having won the award in 2019 and 2020 as well.
Olympic gold-medallist and Aces Awards jury member M.M. Somaya presented the trophy to the Chief Minister of Odisha, Naveen Patnaik, at a ceremony at the Lokaseva Bhavan in Bhubaneswar.
Also present on the occasion were Tusharkanti Behera, Minister of Sports and Youth Services and E&IT, Dilip Tirkey former India hockey captain, Vishal Dev, Principal Secretary Sports and Youth Services, Ayon Sengupta, Editor of Sportstar. and LV Navneeth, CEO of The Hindu Group.
"It's indeed a moment of great pride for us in Odisha to be honoured as the Best State for Promotion of Sport between 2011-2020. I humbly accept this award on behalf of the people of Odisha. I thank the eminent jury headed by renowned cricketer Sunil Gavaskar for choosing Odisha for this award," Patnaik said at the ceremony.
"For generations in India, Sportstar was the window to the world of sport. It has been a source of inspiration and motivation for decades before the era of television and internet.
“I am happy that Sportstar is continuing its rich tradition of promoting and recognising achievements in sport," he added.
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