BC Suresh to be conferred with Dhyan Chand Lifetime award, Sakshi Kumari to receive Arjuna

Published at :November 16, 2022 at 2:30 AM

Modified at :November 17, 2022 at 12:20 AM

Both awardees will be felicitated by the President at the November 30 award ceremony.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has laid down the criteria for sportspersons eligible for the Arjuna Award. The players perform consistently in international as well as national events for at least four years and possess qualities of sportsmanship, leadership, along with discipline.

BC Suresh and Sakshi Kumari will be conferred with Dhyan Chand Life Time Achievement Award and Arjuna award respectively. BC Suresh is the brother of BC Ramesh, who is currently coaching Puneri Paltan in the Pro Kabaddi League. Sakshi Kumari represents Haryana in the senior Nationals and has played a vital role for the state team.

BC Suresh along with his brother BC Ramesh are among the few to take Karnataka to greater heights in Kabaddi. At the start of PKL, more than ten players from Karnataka represented several franchises. Sukesh Hegde was one of the stars of Telugu Titans. Sukesh Hegde, while representing Karnataka, was under the watchful eyes of the BC brothers who have trained many players in the past including Mamata Poojary.

BC Suresh was the vice-captain of the Indian team which won the gold medal in the inaugural edition of the Kabaddi World Cup held in Mumbai in 2004. In his playing days, he was an all-rounder and was also part of the gold-winning 2002 Asian Games team. BC Suresh is the recipient of Eklavya, Kempe Gowda, and the Karnataka Olympic Association of the year awards.

Sakshi Kumari has been an integral part of the Indian team for many years. She was also part of the training camp for the postponed 2022 Asian Games. She represented Storm Queens in the inaugural edition of the Women’s Kabaddi League held way back in 2016.

Sakshi was instrumental in the finals where Storm Queens defeated Fire Birds (24-23) to become champions in the three-team tournament. Sakshi scored eight points overall six in raiding and two from defence and was the standout performer.