Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Olympic Association (OOA) and the Odisha Athletics Association (OAA) jointly felicitated promising sprinter Animesh Kujur on the occasion of National Sports Day today.

Kujur created history by becoming the first-ever Indian male sprinter to qualify for the World Athletics Championship 2025, scheduled to be held in Tokyo, Japan from September 13 to 21 this year.

As a mark of encouragement and recognition of his achievement, the Odisha Olympic Association presented a cheque of Rs 50,000 and the Odisha Athletics Association also presented Rs 50,000, making a total felicitation amount of Rs 1,00,000 Kujur.

In addition to this, several eminent personalities were also felicitated on the occasion for their valuable contribution to sports. Among them were Anuradha Biswal (Olympian), Gitanjali Khuntia and Gayatree Mallick (Ex-International Footballers), Md. Shahid Jabba (Former Indian Women’s Team Coach), and Dr. Bibekananda Tripathy (veteran and International Marathon runner). Their contributions were acknowledged and celebrated as a source of inspiration for the younger generation.

Sameer Mohanty, President, Odisha Olympic Association; Dr. Asirbad Behera, Chairman, Odisha Athletics Association, Avijit Paul, General Secretary, Odisha Olympic Association & Acting Secretary, Odisha Athletics Association; Pratap Satpathy, Vice President, Odisha Olympic Association; Ashok Sahu, Joint Secretary, Odisha Athletics Association; Ajaya Kumar Behera, District Sports Officer, Cuttack among other were present at the felicitation ceremony.

The sports bodies expressed their confidence that Kujur’s participation at the World Athletics Championship 2025 will be a proud moment not just for Odisha but for the entire nation, and assured continued support in his sporting journey.