HIMACHAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2017

Rajiv K. Phull

In our endeavour to honour different personalities of Himachal to acknowledge their achievements and contribution to the society, Himachal This Week has chosen different categories of Himachalis. In addition one special category as Himachali of the Year 2017 has also been chosen. People from this hill state have been performing outstandingly in different fields. It was not an easy task to select few Himachalis amongst a galaxy of such outstanding personalities. A panel comprising eminent personalities handled this difficult job; firstly by shortlisting few categories and then identifying the deserving candidates by scanning all areas. Relevant information was collected and panel evaluated achievements of each individual in different categories. Though it was a Herculean task to select one person from the impressive list but the panel selected few most distinguished personalities from different categories. In addition, one special category as Himachali of the Year 2017 was also selected whose performance was extraordinary amongst all.

Sportsperson Of the Year

Kavita Thakur

Citation: Hailing from Jagatsukh village near Manali, international kabaddi player Kavita Thakur has brought laurels for the country and Himachal. She has been a regular member of Indian Women Kabaddi team with four international gold medals, including Asian Games and Asian Championship, to her credit. In addition, she has also won a dozen medals in national kabaddi championships. For her remarkable achievements in kabaddi sports in international championships, Himachal This Week confers on her Himachal Excellence Award 2017.

Hailing from sleepy village Jagatsukh near Manali, Kavita Thakur was passionate for kabaddi since her childhood. Born on January 10, 1993, she aspired to a kabaddi player after she passed Class 5th as she used to enthusiastically watch her elder sister kalpana Singh playing the sport. Kavita hails from a modest family as her parents run a dhaba to earn livelihood. Kavita’s role model is her mother Krishna Singh who not only encouraged but also helped her to pursue her passion for kabaddi.  As she pursued her elementary education in government school of the area, Kavita started visiting kabaddi ground to pursue her passion. She progressed well in kabaddi under the watchful eyes of school PTI and performed excellently. She was always a member of the school kabaddi team that participated in district and state level competitions. She also represented the state team and performed well in nation level championships twice while she was still in school. She got admission in Sports Authority of India Hostel, Dharamshala while she was in class Xth and never looked back since then. Kavita has four international gold medals to her credit, including Asian Games in 2014 and Asian Championship in 2017. Having completed here graduation, she also has 12 national medals in her kitty, including school national games and senior national championships.

-By Shalini Roy Bhardwaj/Kullu

Vishal Bhardwaj

Citation: Hailing from Dehlan village in Una district, international kabaddi player Vishal Bhardwaj has cemented his place in Indian kabaddi team. Having performed outstandingly at national level and also in Pro Kabaddi League, defender Vishal was selected in Indian Kabaddi team that won gold medal in Asian Kabaddi Championship 2017. He has also represented Indian Junior Kabaddi team earlier. For his remarkable achievements in kabaddi sports in international tournaments, Himachal This Week confers on him Himachal Excellence Award 2017.

Born on January 1, 1997, Vishal Bhardwaj is shining in kabaddi not only at the national level but also in international competitions. Hailing from Dehlan village in Una district, Vishal started playing kabaddi while he was in class 8th.  He performed outstandingly at at school level at state and national level kabaddi competitions. Pursuing his graduation from Government College, Una, Vishal’s role model in kabaddi is none other than Himachal’s international kabaddi star and captain of Indian men Kabaddi team Ajay Thakur. Vishal has also represented Himachal team thrice in junior national and twice in senior national championships. His excellent performance in kabaddi at various levels didn’t go unnoticed as he was selected in Indian Junior Men Kabaddi team in 2016. He was selected in Indian Kabaddi team after he came up with a scintillating performance in Pro Kabaddi Season 5. He was the third highest scorer as he gathered 71 points from 22 matches as defender for his team Telgu Titans. He was a member of the Indian team that won gold medal in Asian Kabaddi Championship 2017 held in in Iran. He is one of the established kabaddi players from Himachal who is shining at national and international level.

-By Vikas Koundal/Una

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