Future of Indian sports to be honoured on Nov 11

Indian skipper Virat Kohli, Sanjiv Goenka, chairman of RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, have come together to to honour exceptional performances and achievements by Indian sportspersons

The annual event will be virtually supported by India's sporting fraternity, which consists of legends of Indian sports, sports journalists affiliated to the Sports Journalists Federation of India and fans.

It was announced that Sanjiv Goenka and Pullela Gopichand, national badminton coach and former all–England champion, will chair the jury comprising tennis ace and Mahesh Bhupathi, athlete PT Usha, former world No 1 sharp shooter Anjali Bhagwat and former Indian Hockey captain Arjun Halappa.

The members of the jury unveiled the trophy, which will be handed over to the winners during the inaugural ceremony, which will be held in Mumbai on Saturday, November 11.

Sanjiv Goenka said: "We welcome the eminent members of the jury, who have led Indian sports by example and left an indelible mark for future generations to emulate. The Indian Sports Honours have been enhanced and enriched by the direct involvement of the premier stakeholders of Indian sports – the sportspersons, legends and the sports journalists.

The fans will get to voice their opinion by voting online for the six popular choice awards. Not only will an initiative like this inspire the youth and prospects of the future to work harder, but it will also motivate them to take up sports as a career and excel at the highest level. I wish all the nominees the very best in their quest for glory and their mission to keep the Indian national flag flying high."

In one of the segments, promising Indian athletes with the potential to excel in global events in the future will be awarded scholarships by the Virat Kohli Foundation.

The Virat Kohli Foundation has pledged a minimum of Rs 2 crore to be utilised every year on the beneficiaries of the scholarships.

The progress of the athletes will be monitored through the coming years. Virat Kohli has ruled himself out of contention for the awards. The ceremony will be telecast exclusively on Star Sports and Hotstar.

As a part of the jury, Pullela Gopichand said: "We are seeing a change in the manner in which sport is being perceived in our country. More individuals are looking at it in terms of a full-time career. The most effective way in which to inspire the next generation of sportspersons is to excel at the sport you play. Indians are outdoing their counterparts from other nations on the international stage, and if there is a special talent in the country, it is our duty to nurture it. There should be a dedicated process for the same."

The Sports Journalists Federation of India researched performances of Indian sportspersons between August 1, 2016 and July 31, 2017.