This year’s recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, which includes a cash prize of ₹1 lakh, a special memento, shawl, and coconut, is veteran boxing coach Ganesh Purohit, informed Prashant Jagtap, secretary of Nav Maharashtra Krida Mandal and Chaitanya Sports at a press conference on Sunday.
The award ceremony will be held on May 14, on Bhau Kane’s birthday, at 6:30 PM at the Shikshak Sahkari Cooperative Bank Hall near Gandhi Sagar Lake, Mahal. union Minister Nitin Gadkari, MLA Pravin Datke, and NMKM president Dhananjay Kane will attend as chief guests.
Seventy-year-old NIS coach Ganesh Purohit, who has been training athletes for the past 40 years, has produced several national and international players. Among them, current Asian champion Alfiya Pathan is the most prominent. He has also played a key role in shaping athletes like Asian Youth medalist Anant Deshmukh, Samiksha Singh, Sanjay Jordar, Salman Shaikh, and Aarti Bhosale.
This year, Shamsher Khan has been selected for the Best Athletics Coach Award. The award carries a cash prize of ₹21,000 and a memento. His prominent athletes include Nayan Sarde, who represented India in last year’s World Junior Championship, and Aniket Nalawade, who won the 100-meter race at this year’s Indian Open Series.
When one thinks of Nav Maharashtra Krida Mandal, kho-kho comes to mind first. Therefore, from this year onward, the organization has decided to also honor the Best Kho-Kho Coach. The first recipient of this award will be Mahendra Patil, coach of Vidarbha Youth Sports and Cultural Mandal, Katol. The award includes ₹21,000 in cash and a memento.
The organisers have appealed to sports lovers, coaches, and athletes to attend the programme in large numbers. Present at the press conference were NMKM president Dhananjay Kane along with Shirish Bhagat, Shantaram Pande, Naresh Shelke, Prashant Ulabhaje, Manoj Balpande, Vishakha Joshi, Jitendra Ghordadekar, and Palash Joshi.