Sprinter Srabani Nanda will be awarded the 24th Ekalabya Award for the year 2016 in recognition of her sporting excellence. She will get a cash award of Rs 5 lakh along with a citation at the Ekalabya Award function, a press release said.
Srabani won gold in 200m, silver in 100m and 4x100m relay in 12th South Asian Games held in Guwahati in February 2016. She had also won bronze in 100m and 4x100m relay in Asian Grand Prix Athletics in Thailand in June 2015.
Besides Srabani, hockey players Deep Grace Ekka and Dipsan Tirkey will also receive a cash prize of Rs 50,000. The date for Ekalabya Award function will be announced later.
Ekalabya Award, instituted by Indian Metals Public Charitable Trust (IMPaCT), is given every year to young sportspersons of Odisha in recognition of their outstanding performance in the preceding two years. Athlete Dutee Chand won the award in 2015.