Virat Kohli Foundation & RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group to honour sportspersons

The RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, and the Virat Kohli Foundation have joined hands for the 2nd edition of the Indian Sports Honours. This annual ceremony is an effort to reiterate the spirit of sportsmanship in India and offer appreciation and grace to the exceptional performances of Indian sportspersons. The second edition of the ISH will be held on Saturday, 16th February 2019 in Mumbai.

The members of jury came together in Kolkata to select the winners which were nominated in every category. The nominations were shortlisted by Sports Journalist Federation of India (SJFI) and voted on by over 200 journalists to select the final nominees. The entire selection and jury process is overseen and validated by EY as Process Advisors to the ISH.

Present at the event were Sanjiv Goenka, Chairman, RP Sanjiv Goenka Group and Chairman of the jury; Pullela Gopichand, Chief National Coach for the Indian Badminton team and former All-England Champion. Also present were the new jury members, 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Abhinav Bindra, and former Indian Hockey Captain Sardar Singh, alongside existing eminent jury members multi Grand Slam winner Mahesh Bhupathi, legendary athlete P.T. Usha, and former world number one shooter Anjali Bhagwat.

In accordance with the sports enthusiasm in India, Indian Sports Honours observes the support of the Indian sports fraternity in its entirety. The ceremony witnesses the congregation of the complete Indian Sports universe ranging from Indian sports legends to sports journalists to sports enthusiasts, all of whom unite to honour the hard work and skills of the athletes.

Elaborating on the meeting of the jury, Sanjiv Goenka, Chairman, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, said, “We welcome the Indian sports legends into the Jury, and express our heartfelt gratitude for accepting to join the panel in celebrating the legends of Indian sports. They have left extraordinary examples with their skills and left an indelible mark for future generations to emulate. The Indian Sports Honours has been enhanced and enriched by the direct involvement of premier stakeholders of the Indian sports fraternity. It is a platform where sports fans will get to voice their opinion by voting online for the six popular choice awards. This initiative is a directive to inspire and motivate the youth to work harder, but most of all to follow their passion for sports through to a career where they seek and achieve excellence. I wish all the nominees the very best in their quest for glory and their mission to keep the Indian National Flag flying high.”

Bunty Sajdeh, CEO, Cornerstone Sport, added here, “The Indian Sports Honours has been conceptualized to recognize, celebrate and promote Indian athletes who sweat blood everyday to make India proud on a global scale. Our elite jury panel is testament to the credibility and transparency we thrive on each year.”

Pullela Gopichand, Chairman of Jury, said, “Appreciation of one’s efforts is an enormous motivation for any sportsman, accolades like this add a tremendous boost of vigour to keep striving for excellence regardless of form and age.”

According to Abhinav Bindra, Olympic Gold Medallist, “The award an athlete gets is just not for that individual but it also recognises the team and support staff which is committed for the athlete’s success, the award is just not a reflection of an individual’s success but it reflects his/her team’s efforts too.