VP C.P. Radhakrishnan honours Gyaneshwari Yadav, Chandani Sahu with Chhattisgarh’s top sports awards

RAIPUR: Vice President C P Radhakrishnan presented the prestigious Gundadhur Samman to international weightlifter Gyaneshwari Yadav and the Maharaja Pravir Chandra Bhanj Deo Samman to archer Chandani Sahu at the State Alankaran Samaroh.

Gyaneshwari (22), a resident of Bhodiya village in Rajnandgaon district, represented India in the World Weightlifting Championship held in Manama, Bahrain, in December 2024. She secured the fifth position in the championship. Chandani (15), from Bagbahara in Mahasamund district, won a silver medal for Chhattisgarh in the team event at the 38th National Games held in Uttarakhand in January–February 2025. She was also part of the four-member Chhattisgarh team that won a bronze medal in the team archery event at the National Games. Chandani Sahu, who is currently studying in Class 10, is training at the residential archery academy in Bahatarai, Bilaspur, since 2023. She also won a silver medal in the team event at the Senior National Competition in Jamshedpur in 2024 and represented Chhattisgarh at the Junior National Archery Competition held in Bholpur, West Bengal, this year. The Gundadhur Samman is presented annually by the State government’s sports and youth welfare department to an outstanding sportsperson in a discipline considered for national-level honours by the union ministry of youth affairs and sports.

The recipient must have won a gold, silver, or bronze medal while representing Chhattisgarh in the senior category of a national championship or national games, or represented India at an international sports competition in the last one year.

The Maharaja Pravir Chandra Bhanj Deo Samman is given to a senior-category archer who has won a gold, silver, or bronze medal while representing Chhattisgarh in a national archery championship or national games, or represented India at an international archery competition in the last one year. Governor Ramen Deka, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, and deputy chief minister and minister for sports and youth welfare Arun Sao lauded the achievements of both athletes.