Bhubaneswar, Aug 27 : Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday announced a cash award of Rs 1.5 crore for sprinter Dutee Chand for winning the silver medal in the 100 meter event at 18th Asian Games in Indonesia.

Dutee from Odisha had on Sunday sealed the second spot in the women's 100 meter event at the Asian Games by finishing the race in 11.32 seconds. She missed the gold medal by a mere 0.02 second.

The Chief Minister congratulated Dutee, a hundred-meter sprint national record holder.

"It is a matter of pride that an athlete from Odisha has brought laurels to the country in this event after 20 years. In 1998 Asian Games, Odia Athlete Rachita Panda Mistri had won bronze medal," said a statement from the Chief Minister's Office(CMO).

"In recognition of her grit, determination and hard work, the Chief Minister has announced a cash award of Rs 1.5 crore to Dutee Chand," the statement said.

The state has a special focus on Athletics, considering the performance of its athletes in recent times and the huge potential among the talented youth, the statement said.

To encourage Athletics, the state had organised the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships in 2017 in partnership with International Association of Athletics Federation and Athletics Federation of India.

Odisha is all set to launch the much awaited high-performance Regional Athletics Academy at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar soon. It is a first of its kind at the state level.

 

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New Delhi (PTI): Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will inaugurate a two-day conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) India Region in Panaji on Thursday.

The conference of Zone-7 of the CPA aims to strengthen parliamentary cooperation, promote exchange of best practices and deliberate on key development priorities of the region, according to an official statement.

The dignitaries will deliberate on subjects such as "The Role of Young Legislators in Achieving the Goal of a Developed India by 2047" and "Priorities of Zone-7 in Trade, Tourism, Urbanisation, Environment and Coastal Connectivity", among others.

The CPA India Region Zone-7 comprises the legislatures of Goa, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

This will be the first conference of Zone-7 after the CPA India Region was restructured into nine zones in 2024.

Currently, the speaker of the Gujarat legislative assembly serves as the chairperson of CPA India Region Zone-7.

The valedictory session on April 10 will be graced by Goa Governor Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju, along with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, Maharashtra Legislative Council Chairman Ram Shinde, Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar, and Gujarat Assembly Speaker Shankarbhai Chaudhary will also address the dignitaries.

Besides, the presiding officers of the legislatures of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Telangana, the Union minister and MPs from Goa, and legislators from the three member states will also attend the conference, the statement said.