Puneeth Rajkumar to be conferred Karnataka Ratna posthumously: CM Bommai
Bengaluru, Nov 16: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday announced that Kannada film star Puneeth Rajkumar, who died recently, will be conferred with the 'Karnataka Ratna' award posthumously.
He will be the 10th recipient of the state's highest civilian honour.
Considered the Kannada cinema's reigning star, Puneeth, youngest of five children of thespian and matinee idol Dr Rajkumar, had died of a cardiac arrest on October 29 at the age of 46.
"After discussion with several people, I have decided to confer Karnataka Ratna award posthumously to Puneeth Rajkumar. I'm making this announcement today," Bommai said.
The Chief Minister made this announcement while speaking at the "Puneetha Namana," an event to pay homage to late Puneeth Rajkumar, organised by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC), in association with Sandalwood film actors' and technicians' associations.
"There are a lot of other suggestions, regarding honouring him with national level awards, our government is open minded on this, and in the upcoming cabinet those decisions will be taken," he added.
Ever since his death there has been chorus demanding 'Padma Shri' award posthumously to Puneeth.
The Karnataka Ratna announcement by the Chief Minister was welcomed with standing ovation at the event that was attended by former Chief Ministers B S Yediyurappa and Siddaramaiah, Bommai's cabinet colleagues, state Congress chief D K Shivakumar, host of political leaders, film personalities of Kannada and South Indian film industry, among others.
Karnataka Ratna was last awarded to Dr. Virendra Heggade for social service in 2009.
Interestingly, Puneeth's late father Rajkumar is among the first recipients of Karnataka Ratna award in 1992, along with poet Kuvempu.
Other recipients of the award are S Nijalingappa (Politics), CNR Rao (Science), Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty (Medical), Bhimsen Joshi (Music), Shivakumara Swamiji (Social Service), and Dr J Javaregowda (Education & Literature).
Stating that a lot of suggestions have come to immortalise Puneeth Rajkumar, Bommai said, "I want to say one the government's wish is also the same. His final resting place will be developed like that of his parents- Dr Rajkumar and Parvathamma Rajkumar."
Puneeth was laid to rest with full state honours at Dr Rajkumar Punyabhoomi in Kanteerava Studio, next to his father and mother on October 31.
Stating that he has seen Puneeth Rajkumar from his childhood, the Chief Minister said, "he was the fountain of telnet from a very young age and went on to win the national award as a child actor."
Along with success in acting career, Puneeth was humble in his character and mannerism, he said, "he matched his father Dr Rajkumar in the humbleness with which he carried himself."
Bommai also thanked members of Rajkumar family, fans of Puneeth and government officials for their cooperation in carrying out the late actor's final journey and funeral in a peaceful manner.
Welcoming government's decision to award Karnataka Ratna to Puneeth, Siddaramaiah urged the Chief Minister and his cabinet to recommend to centre to give him 'Padma Shri' award posthumously, and see to that he gets it.
While Shivakumar called for an institute training young actors to be established in the memory of Puneeth.
Puneeth, popularly known as 'Appu' and 'power star', by his fans, made debut on screen when he was just six-months-old and went on to win a national award as a child artiste for the film 'Bettada Hoovu'. He then re-emerge as a lead actor in 2002 and went on to star in 29 films, delivering some big hits.
ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾಜಿ ಮುಖ್ಯಮಂತ್ರಿ @BSYBJP, ವಿರೋಧ ಪಕ್ಷದ ನಾಯಕ @siddaramaiah, ಹಲವಾರು ಸಚಿವರು, ಮುಖಂಡರು, ಕಲಾವಿದರು, ಚಿತ್ರರಂಗದ ಗಣ್ಯರು ಉಪಸ್ಥಿತರಿದ್ದರು. (2/2) pic.twitter.com/4f0s90aYS2
— CM of Karnataka (@CMofKarnataka) November 16, 2021
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Kho Kho World Cup: Indian women's team crowned champion
New Delhi: The Indian women's team emerged champion in the inaugural Kho Kho World Cup with a dominant 78-40 victory in the summit clash against Nepal here on Sunday.
On a memorable night at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium here, India produced a masterclass of speed, strategy and skill, dishing out a clinical show.
A brisk start marked Turn 1 as the Indian attackers took charge of the proceedings. Three batches in the Nepal women were out by simple touches on 7 occasions, putting 14 points to India's kitty.
Skipper Priyanka Ingle was in the best form with multiple touch points to her name, as the hosts started off in an excellent manner. This was enough to take the Women in Blue to 34 points and preventing a single Dream Run for the Nepal team.
Manmati Dhami got Vaishnavi Pawar, and B Samjhana eliminated Priyanka Ingle but B Chaithra took India's first batch of Turn 2 into the Dream Run.
👸 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 🇮🇳🏆
— Kho Kho World Cup India 2025 (@Kkwcindia) January 19, 2025
Congratulations to #TeamIndia women for claiming the 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭-𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐊𝐡𝐨 𝐊𝐡𝐨 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐂𝐮𝐩 👏#KhoKhoWorldCup #KKWC2025 #TheWorldGoesKho #Khommunity #KhoKho #KKWCWomen pic.twitter.com/tqlBPbTIdc
It wasn't for long, though, as Dipa completed the ALL OUT just moments later. This got the side back into the game but they only managed to score 24 points at the end of Turn 2, with an 11-point deficit at half time.
India were once again the dominant force in Turn 3, never allowing the Nepal defenders to settle in their stride. BK Dipa was a regular for Nepal but it went in vain throughout, ensuring that the Indians edged closer to the trophy.
Chaithra was the orchestrator of the Dream Run for India, taking the score to a massive 78 points in Turn 4. Their batch went on for a massive 5 minutes and 14 seconds, closing out the game for India and confirming them as the first-ever champions of the Kho Kho World Cup.
India's path to glory had included commanding victories over South Korea, Iran and Malaysia in the group stages, followed by triumph against Bangladesh in the quarter-finals and a masterful win over South Africa in the semi-finals.
🏆𝐊𝐇𝐎 𝐊𝐇𝐎 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒🏆||
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) January 19, 2025
Indian🇮🇳 Women's Team beats Nepal 78-40; Clinches the inaugural #KhoKhoWorldCup Trophy. #Finals | #KhoKhoWorldCup | #TheWorldGoesKho | #BharatvsNepal | @Kkwcindia | @Media_SAI | @YASMinistry | pic.twitter.com/mh8NJuD6RX
