MUMBAI: In an effort to give sports persons from various disciplines their due, Sahara has launched the Sahara India Sports Awards.
The aim of the awards is to felicitate achievements in different fields. The awards will also recognise the contribution of coaches, administrators and officials. The first edition takes place on 9 November.
Percept has helped conceptualise the event. Max is the broadcast partner while Kingfisher is the Airline partner. Sahara says that the new initiative cements its involvement with Indian sport. It already sponsors the Indian cricket and hockey teams. It is also sponsoring 56 sportspersons in wrestling, shooting, archery and boxing with the aim that India should win more medals in the 2012 Olympics in London. The group, among other things, supports the Calcutta Football League.
Speaking about the awards Sahara MD Subrata Roy Sahara notes that in this country sport still takes a back seat and does not get the much needed recognition and applause. “We feel that we need to encourage sportspersons and give an impetus to their talent by appreciating and facilitating it.”
There are 13 Jury members for the awards. Sunil Gavaskar is the chairman. The other members include Michael Ferreira, P Gopichand, Nandan Bal and Dilip Vengsarkar.
The Sahara India Sports Awards has several categories. The nominees for best team are the Indian Hockey team, Deccan Chargers, Churchill Brothers, Indian cricket team and Indian men’s archery team. Competing for sportsman of the year are Abhinav Bindra, Vishwanathan Anand and Jeev Milkha Singh. The nominees for sportswoman of the year are Mary Kom, Koneru Humpy and Saina Nehwal. The nominees for best male cricketer are Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni. The nominees for female cricketer of the year are Priyanka Roy, Mitali Raj, Rumeli Dhar and Gouher Sultana.
