Dipsan Tirkey to get Ekalabya Puraskar - 2017

The Ekalabya Puraskar 2017, would be given to Hockey player Dipsan Tirkey.
The Ekalabya Committee comprising of jury members drawn from different walks of life were unanimous in their decision to select emerging and talented Hockey player Dipsan Tirkey for the award at a meeting held here today.
The annual award comprising a cash prize of Rs five lakh and a citation would be presented to the talented player at the Ekalabya Award function.
The Ekalabya award was started in 1993.
Tirkey has a brilliant international and national track record. He was a member of the Indian Team that emerged Champion in the 8th Junior Men's Asia Cup Hockey Tournament in Malayasia and is a rising star in the national Hockey team.

Besides Tirkey, two other sportspersons will be felicitated for their remarkable performances at various International & National level in their respective fields.

They are athlete Amiya Mallick and hockey player Deep Grace Ekka, who was a member of the Women's Indian Olympic team. Both will receive a cash prize of Rs 50,000 each along with citations. The date for Ekalabya Award function will be announced later.
The Ekalabya Puraskar has been instituted by IMPaCT, the social wing of IMFA, which has been promoting literature, sports, the arts, culture and other socially meaningful activities in the state for decades.
The Puraskar, an annual award given to young upcoming sportspersons has come a long way to be recognized as the most prestigious sports award of Odisha, drawing parallels with many national awards. It has acted as a catalyst for sportspersons to excel both at National & International level.

Announcing the names of this year's winners, Baijayant Panda, MP and Trustee of IMPaCT said, "We feel humbled and gratified that our relentless pursuit to recognize and foster excellence in sports has reaped rich dividends for the state and the country."
"We are delighted that we have upheld the values of fairness and transparency, raising the bar with every passing year and that the prestigious Ekalabya Puraskar has carved a special niche in the hearts of sports lovers as we celebrate its 25 anniversary this year," he said.