Patna, June 23: Determination, honesty, and perseverance without shortcuts are key to success in any field, said Bihar Government’s Sports Minister Surendra Mehta. He delivered these remarks during the Sardar Patel Samman Samaroh-2024, organized by Turning Point at Premchand Rangshala in Rajendranagar, Patna.
Highlighting the “Bring Medal, Get Job” initiative under Khelo India introduced by Prime Minister Modi, Mehta emphasized the Bihar Government’s commitment to enhancing sports facilities in every village. “Sports grounds will be arranged in every village, and stadiums are being constructed in every block. Focus on sports and win medals from district to international levels,” he urged the athletes.
Ceremony Inauguration and Key Speakers
The ceremony was inaugurated by Sports Minister Surendra Mehta, Patna University Vice Chancellor Prof. KC Sinha, Bihar Players Association President Mrityunjay Tiwari, Deputy Mayor of Patna Municipal Corporation Reshmi Chandravanshi, folk singer and writer Dr. Neetu Kumari Navgeet, Women Development Forum President Veena Manvi, and Mausam Sharma by lighting the lamp.
Mrityunjay Tiwari emphasized the importance of the four Ds: Desire, Dedication, Determination, and Discipline. “If you follow these, you will automatically achieve success and get a chance to play for the country,” he stated.
Honorees and Awards
The ceremony honored individuals from various fields, including sports, education, health, business, and public service. Notable awards included:
- Lifetime Achievement Award 2024: Ajay Narayan Sharma
- Sardar Patel Khel Ratna Samman 2024: Adhikari Madan Mohan Prasad
- Sardar Patel Vibhuti Ratna Samman 2024: Devaki Nandan Das and Ranjit Bhattacharya
- Sardar Patel Khel Samman 2024: Saurabh Chakraborty
- Special Award 2024: Naveen Kumar
Recognized Contributors
- Members of Municipal Corporation Empowered Committee: Ashish Sinha, Indradeep Chandravanshi, Shweta Rai, Kaveri Singh, Kanti Devi, Manoj Kumar, Vinod Kumar.
- Educational Institutions: Open Mind A Birla School, Agastya Classes, VTech Computer Education, Kidzee School, Gulfera Bazaar, Birla Open Mind A Pre School.
- Academicians: Prem Ranjan, Brajesh Kumar, Priya Kashyap, Shubham Kumar, Ayushi Singh, Deepak Kumar, Sneha Kumari, Shivani Sinha, Mrityunjay Kumar, Aditya Kumar, Shailendra Lal, Gaurishankar Sharma.
- Art Giants to be Honored: Mausam Sharma, Mrs. Papiya Ganguly Khatri, Harshit Mehta, Pradeep, Anjali, Divya Jyoti, Ashish Arya, Dheeraj Singh, Jaya Tiwari, Smriti Singh.
- Industry Giants: Anshul Homes, Co Working Studio (Prakashyat Kashyap), Vizariya Security (Prashant Kumar Jha), Nayab Sports, Nitesh Kumar Singh (Patliputra Overseas Pvt. Ltd.), Genmish India Pvt. Ltd., S R Plastic Pvt. Ltd.
- Casa Picolla School Cricket League Officials: Rajesh Ranjan, Yatendra Kumar, Baijnath Prasad (all umpires), Raja Kumar (scorer), Govind Kumar (physio), Ankit (online scoring), Chandan Kumar (ground coordinator), Pardeshi, Rupesh Kumar, Prince Kumar (all ground staff).
- Sports Persons: Manoj Kumar (football, secretary PFA), Dr. Sarita Kumari (psychiatrist), Dr. Kundan Kumar (physio), Dr. Ravi Goswami (physio), Rimjim Singh (manager, Bihar Under-15 Women’s Cricket Team), MP Verma (cricket coach), Chandan Kumar Singh (cricket promoter), Atul Kumar (cricket promoter), Santosh Kumar (cricket coach), Krishna Patel (cricket coach), Rajesh Rana (cricket coach), Abhishek Kumar Jaddu (trainer, BCA team), Nirmal Kumar (athletics coach), Abhinav Kumar (NIS coach, kabaddi), Shrimod Pathak (badminton), Satjeet Aditya (carrom), Sandeep Kumar (gymnastics), Yogi Amisha (yoga), Priyadarshna (yoga), Karandhir Sharma (athletics), Suresh Kumar Mishra (commentator), Nitish Upadhyay (soft tennis), Uttam Kesari (skating), Rakesh Ranjan (chess), Ajit Singh (cricket coach), Mukesh Kumar (cricket coach), Raju Rai (cricket coach), Vikas Kumar (bodybuilding), Ajay Nishad (football referee), Vikas Kumar (umpire), Nitin Rathore (tug of war), Mrityunjay Jha (commentator), Sandeep Patil (commentator), Rajesh Kumar Agarwal (social worker).
- Media Persons: Mohammad Ishauddin (Rashtriya Sahara), Arun Singh (Dainik Jagran), Amarnath (Aaj), Ashish Kumar (Rashtriya Sahara), Razi Ahmed (Qaumi Tanzeem), Alok Kumar, Dharmanath (Prabhat Khabar), Rahul Kumar (Hindustan), Pushkar Kumar (Dainik Bhaskar), Akshat Pandey (Dainik Jagran), Naveen Chandra (Kheldhaba.com), Alok Naveen (Sanmargh), Vikas Pandey (Dainik I Next), Vinita Mishra (News 18), Shivanjali (Dainik Bhaskar Digital), Ashish Gupta (photographer), Jitendra Kumar (photographer), JP (photographer), Rajnandan (Khel Bihar), Ujjwal (Krida News).
- Sports Promoters: Dr. Mukesh Kumar Singh, Dr. Sanjeev Kumar, Hussain Akhtar (Kheloj), Shambhavi Raj (advocate), Sumit Sharma, Suman Agarwal, Mehtab Alam (CA), Vikas Kumar, Kanchan Kumari, Mohit Srivastava.
- Players: Samar Qadri (Dulip Trophy cricketer), Kumar Rajnish (Ranji Trophy cricketer), Himanshu Hari (Ranji Trophy cricketer), Rishabh Raj (Ranji Trophy player), Prateek Arya (senior state cricketer), Ashutosh Jyoti Singh (senior state cricketer), Kumar Shubham (cricketer), Swarnima Chakraborty (senior BCA player & under-19 SGFI captain), Dolly Kumari (senior player), Indrakshi (cricketer), Soumya Akhouri (under-15 state player), Simran Kumari (under-19 state player), Julie Kumari (under-15 state player), Deepa Kumari (under-15 state player), Pooja Kumari (softball), Pooja Singh (wushu), Mahi Gupta (table tennis), Ruhanika Rai (kabaddi), Suyash Madhup (badminton), Sushant Shekhar (baseball), Kiran Kumari (athletics), Anya Kumari (taekwondo), Om Aditya Shankar (shooting), Khushboo Kumari (football), Geetanjali Rani (under-19 cricketer), Suhani Kumari (under-19 cricketer), Baby Kumari (football), Shweta Gupta (physio).
- Pitch Curators: Devishankar Tiwari, Himanshu Rishu, Rajiv Nandan, Himanshu Kumar, Mantu Kumar, Shubham Pandey.
- Emerging Cricketers: Trayoshi Chatterjee, Sakshi Kumari Thakur, Viraj Kumar, Aditya Kumar, Ryan, Aryan Singh, Sahil Kumar, Ayush Kumar, Sanku Kumar, Abhinav Sinha, Ayon Ritesh Sinha, Rachit Singh Rajput, Agastya, Ravi Kumar, Piyush Kumar, Pawan Kumar, Divyanshu Kumar, Ronik.
Casa Picolla School Cricket League Awards
- Disciplined Captain of School Cricket League: Karan Kumar
- Disciplined Player of School Cricket League: Priyanshu Kumar
- Man of the Tournament: Sanskar Prabhakar
- Best Batsman: Himanshu Raj
- Best Bowler: Ankit Kumar Paras
- Best Wicketkeeper: Ayan Ritesh Sinha
Cultural Performances and Acknowledgments
During the program, Dheeraj Kumar Singh, Mahi Singh, Anjali, and artists from Nritya Ngana Hobby Centre captivated the audience with cultural performances ranging from devotional to film songs. The event was coordinated by Vijay Sharma, director of Turning Point, with Santosh Tiwari delivering a vote of thanks.
This felicitation ceremony honored individuals who have dedicated their lives to sports and other societal fields, including education, health, and business. Players from the Casa Picolla School Cricket League Season-4, organized by Turning Point, were also recognized.
