Indian para-swimmer Suyash Narayan Jadhav, who will be conferred with Arjuna Award on Saturday, expressed excitement and said it is actually his father`s dream that is being fulfilled. Para-swimmer Suyash Jadhav, Rower Dattu Baban Bhokanal, and shooter Manu Bhaker are among the 27 athletes, who will be conferred with Arjuna Award. Stressing that giving consistent performances is a tough task, the para-swimmer said that he was from a rural area where sports are not given much importance although his parents always supported him.

“When we perform at state, national and international levels, it becomes our dream to get a sports award. I am delighted that I am receiving the Arjuna Award. I feel that the dream of my father, who is a swimmer himself, is getting fulfilled,” Jadhav said.

“It is easy to talk about it, but giving consistent performances is tough. I belong to a rural area where sports is not given much importance but my parents supported me,” he added.

Great joy for Bhokanal

Indian rower Dattu Baban Bhokanal, who is all set to receive Arjuna Award, expressed his joy by saying that it is a proud moment for him but winning an award was never his target. 

“It is a proud moment for me. I am delighted. Giving an award to a sportsperson, to encourage them further, is good. When I started in 2012, it was never my target to win an award. All I aimed at, was to give my best performance,” Bhokanal said. Sixty award winners will attend the National Sports and Adventure Awards 2020 via a virtual event on Saturday, August 29.

The awardees will attend the ceremony from various places across the country – Bengaluru, Pune, Sonepat, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Lucknow, Delhi, Mumbai, Bhopal, Hyderabad, and Itanagar.

Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju, President of the Indian Olympic Association Narendra Dhruv Batra, and several other dignitaries will attend the ceremony from Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.Sports Awards are given every year to recognise and reward excellence in sports.