PANAJI
In an ominous sign for the Goan sports fraternity ahead of the National Games the State is gearing up to host and competed in, Goa has not been unable to find a sportsperson worthy enough to earn the Dilip Sardesai Excellence award for the 2023-24 year.
The State government, it has been officially revealed, has decided not to confer this prestigious award named after the most famous cricketer of Goan origin who captained the Indian team, ostensibly because the selection committee headed by the Sports Secretary felt it should be conferred to 'medal winners' rather than participants at the international level.
The meeting of the 'selection committee' of the Dilip Sardesai Sports Excellence Award was recently held at the Athletic stadium at Bambolim.
Others on the committee include the Director of Sports & Youth Affairs, Executive Director (SAG) besides Padmashree and Arjuna Awardee Brahmanand Sankhwalkar and the Goa Olympic Association (GOA) Secretary General Gurudatta Bhakta.
At the outset, the nominees shortlisted were all found to have failed to make it to the podium at international competitions, although there were some who qualified and participated in prestigious tournaments, a source privy to the deliberations said.
The stature of the award is high and the award should be given to players having medal-winning performances and not mere participation, the Sports Secretary is said to have remarked at the meeting.
The view of the Sports Secretary found concurrence with all the other members of the selection committee. It was then decided that none of the four nominees made the cut to be conferred the Dilip Sardesai Sports Excellence Award for 2023-24, the source added.
Meanwhile the State government accepted the selection committee's opinion and has decided to refrain from conferring the award to any athlete for 2023-24.
It was instituted in 2008 and as many as eight Goan sportspersons have been conferred the award till date.
The ceremony to confer the award is usually held on August 29, which is commemorated as 'National Sports Day' and it entails a bronze plaque of Sardesai, a citation and Rs 2,00,000 cash reward.
