Bhubaneswar: Dr Sarthak Patnaik, Founder of Sports Science India (SSI), has reaffirmed the growing national vision behind the SSI National Sports Awards 2025, now in its third consecutive year, as a comprehensive honour platform recognising excellence across Indian sport while institutionalising the legacy of iconic sporting legends.
Speaking on the evolution of the initiative, Dr Patnaik said the SSI National Sports Awards was conceived with the objective of motivating participation among new athletes, veterans and active sportspersons across disciplines.
“India today has platforms like the Khelo India Games and the National Games. But in terms of structured national recognition, we largely have only the Arjuna Award and the Major Dhyan Chand Award. Beyond that, there is a vacuum. Many legendary contributors to Indian sport still do not have awards in their names,” Dr Patnaik said.
To address this long-standing gap, SSI introduced legacy awards under its national honours framework, including the Shri Milkha Singh Best Sprinter Award, the Dilip Tirkey Best Hockey Player Award, and the Shakti Singh Emerging Thrower’s Award. These awards aim to ensure that the contributions of Indian sporting greats continue to inspire future generations.
Another major highlight of the honours platform is the Karna Award, which recognises excellence across six elite sporting categories, including India’s leading motorbiker, top gymnast, top swimmer, top badminton player, top weightlifter, and elite high-performance sportspersons.
Dr Patnaik also underlined that the SSI National Sports Awards goes beyond athletes to recognise the entire sporting ecosystem. Awards will be presented for Best Grassroots Coach, Best State Coach, National Coach, Best Sports Federation, Sports Support Excellence and Special Sports Development, celebrating those who work behind the scenes to build champions.
“All these awards together now form a single, unified national sporting honour. At present, such a comprehensive national recognition platform does not exist in Odisha. That is why this may become the first and only national sports award of its kind emerging from the Kalinga Stadium,” Dr Patnaik stated.
The SSI National Sports Awards 2025, scheduled to be hosted at the iconic Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar, is expected to further strengthen Odisha’s standing as a national hub for high-performance sport and sports science-driven excellence.
With a strong focus on legacy, athlete performance, coaching excellence, federation leadership and sports development, the SSI National Sports Awards has steadily evolved into one of India’s most inclusive and forward-looking sports honour platforms.
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