The multi discipline awards ceremony witnessed icons from across sports spectrum.
Sahara India Pariwar, a major business conglomerate and the prime promoter & patron of sports in India hosted its newest sports initiative ‘SAHARA INDIAN SPORTS AWARDS’. The comprehensive glittering awards ceremony was held with a view to felicitate the achievement and efforts of Indian sportspersons in their respective fields. The awards ceremony was initiated to also provide recognition to the upcoming young talents as well as to recognize the contribution of coaches, sports officials and administrators. The gala awards ceremony was held on November 9, 2009 at Taj Lands End amidst sporting legends and icons from various sports disciplines.
Sahara India Pariwar developed the awards, with an intention to bring together all sports, including those which are very popular and also those which are not so popular, together on a common platform to recognize and honour the achievements of Indian sportspersons. The first ‘Sahara Indian Sports Awards’ was graced by Indian Sporting Legends like: Mr. Sunil Gavaskar, (Cricket), Mr. Dhanraj Pillai (Hockey), Ms. Ashwini Nachappa (Athletics), Mr. I.M. Vijayan (Football), Mr. Kamlesh Mehta (Table Tennis), Mr. Mehrwan Daruwalla (Squash), Mr. Michael Ferreira (Billiards), Mr. Nandan Bal (Tennis), Mr. Praveen Thipsay (Chess), Mr. Pullela Gopichand (Badminton), Mr. Vikramjit Singh (Golf)
The award ceremony also witnessed sportspersons like Mary Kom, Abhinav Bindra, M. S. Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Pullela Gopichand, Bhaichung Bhutia, Vijendra Singh, Sushil Kumar and many more. Enclosed below is the list of Sahara Indian Sports Awards winners:
| Sahara Indian Sports Awards 2008-09 | ||
| Winners | ||
| S.No. | Categories | Winner |
| 1 | Best Young Achiever - Female | Saina Nehwal |
| 2 | Best Young Achiever - Male | Yuki Bhambri |
| 3 | Coach of the Year | Pullela Gopichand |
| 4 | Outstanding Performance | Vijender Singh - Boxing |
| 5 | Gaganjeet Bhullar - Golf | |
| 6 | Jayanta Talukdar - Archery | |
| 7 | Sushil Kumar - Wrestling | |
| 8 | Best Cricketer - Female | Mitali Raj |
| 9 | Best Cricketer - Male | Gautam Gambhir |
| 10 | Most Memorable Moment | Abhinav Bindra |
| 11 | Unsung Hero | Sylvanus Dung Dung |
| 12 | Legend Honor | Prakash Padukone |
| 13 | Sportswoman of the Year | Mary Kom |
| 14 | Sportsman of the Year | Abhinav Bindra |
| 15 | Team of the Year | Indian Cricket Team |
Two special categories were honored & felicitated in the awards ceremony:
- Legend Honour: Padma Shri Prakash Padukone: Arjuna Award winner and one of the noted Badminton player of India who have won the Danish, Swedish Open and the coveted men's singles title at the All England Championship was felicitated and honored by Sahara India Pariwar
- Unsung Hero: Sylvanus Dung Dung : A prolific former field hockey player from India. He has been a Gold medalist in Moscow Olympics in 1980. He successfully coached the central Command team from Lucknow to the four sequentially triumphs in the Army Hockey Championship. Sahara India Pariwar felicitated him with a monetary incentive of Rs 5 Lakhs for his outstanding contribution to Indian Hockey.
To add some more glitterati to award ceremony Bollywood beauties like Deepika Padukone, Dia Mirza, Neha Dhupia, Keona Mitra performed along with Shaimak Davar & world boxing champion, Vijendra Singh to some foot tapping Bollywood numbers and enthralled the audiences.
On eve of the inaugural ceremony of Sahara Indian Sports Awards, Mr. Subrata Roy Sahara, Managing Worker & Chairman, Sahara India Pariwar said, “Sports in India has seen its popularity and recognition in Cricket. The game has received the affection and enthusiastic participation which is inspiring for any sport. To take all other sports disciplines to the summit of popularity and recognition, a holistic effort is required. ‘Sahara Indian Sports Awards’, is one of our efforts in this direction. The award is aimed to provide an elevated platform to all sports and a congregating point for all sportspersons where sporting talent and achievements are recognised, promoted and celebrated in a unprecedented manner.”
The voting process of the awards was held in two tiers, where at the first level, Sports Journalist Federation of India (SJFI) initially nominated sportspersons from different sections of sports in different categories. From the shortlist drawn from the SJFI nomination, winners of the Sahara Indian Sports Awards under different categories were selected by a 13 person sports jury constituted by living legends from different sports discipline like Cricket, Billiards, Tennis, Golf, Squash, Hockey, Atheltics, Boxing, Badminton, Football, Chess, Table Tennis etc. The jury was led by cricketing legend Mr. Sunil Gavaskar as the Chairman of the jury. The entire selection process was audited and monitored by KPMG.
Sahara Indian Sports Awards is a medium to salute the spirit of sportsmanship and cheer fellow sportsmen. These awards also provide a forum for encouragement to young sporting talents and motivate them to bring laurels to the nation and sports.
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About Sahara India Pariwar
Sahara India Pariwar is a major business conglomerate in India with operations in multiple sectors, including real estate, infrastructure and housing, financial services, housing finance, mutual funds, life insurance, print & television media, film production & distribution, information technology, medical services, hospitality & tourism and consumer products.
The sponsor of Indian Cricket and Hockey, Sahara India Pariwar, had earlier this year, adopted Indian Boxing, Wrestling and Archery and very recently Indian Shooting in addition to covering support of a total of 56 sportsmen in these four games until after London Olympics 2012. The group in order to uplift sports at domestic and grass root level supports the legendary Calcutta Football League, Sheesh Mahal Cricket Tournament and many other sports at the national, state and district levels. Recently the group has extended its sponsorship to the Uttar Pradesh senior cricket team which represents the state in Ranji and all other domestic tournaments.
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