D Gukesh and Manu Bhaker named sportspersons of the year, UP best state for sports promotion

Cricket icon Kapil Dev receives Lifetime Achievement Award
It was a starry night in the City of Nawabs where the kings and queens of the sports arena shared the stage of the Times of India Sports Awards-2024 (TOISA-2024) to celebrate sporting excellence.

The Uttar Pradesh govt bagged the 'Best State for Sports Promotion' award for its sports-centric approach. Minister of state for sports Girish Chandra Yadav received the award from Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for the second year in a row.

The spotlight was on chess world champion Gukesh D and twin Olympic bronze medallist Manu Bhaker, who won the sportsperson of the year award in the men's and women's categories, respectively. The 1983 World Cup winning Indian team skipper and one of the best all rounders in the history of cricket, Kapil Dev, was awarded the lifetime achievement award.

Change Agent of Sports award was presented to athlete Suhas LY, para badminton player and secretary, sports, UP govt.

Among other awards presented at the glittering evening at The Centrum, wrestler Aman Sehrawat received the Emerging Sportsperson of the Year award while Indian hockey team won the team of the year award.

Sumit Antil was awarded para sportsperson of the year. Jaspal Rana and Arun Kumar received Coach of the Year and Para Coach of the Year award, respectively. Paralympics Committee of India (PCI) and Hockey India (HI) were awarded federation of the year award for their efforts in nurturing athletes. The All-India Chess Federation (AICF) also got special recognition for its role in the grand success of Indian chess players in recent times.

TOISA ambassador of the year, a new entry to the list of awards, was given to Suniel Shetty.

Earlier, speaking on the occasion, mentor of the year, Abhinav Bindra said: "Medals are won in the stadium but earned with days of hard work in practice sessions."

Noting that the last decade has been very transformative for the sports fraternity in India, he added: "There were days when funds and encouragement were hard to find. But now, the govt has come forward and the private sector is contributing. The efforts are bearing results. We may not have won too many medals, but every single win fuels a generation of budding talent."

Former athlete and president of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) PT Usha was the special guest on the occasion.

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