Mumbai, August 29, 2020: IndianOil sportspersons were felicitated by Ramnath Kovind, President of India, during the National Sports Awards ceremony held at New Delhi.
Cricketer Rohit Sharma and Commonwealth Games medallist Manika Batra (Table Tennis) were bestowed the nation’s highest sporting honour – the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna. Asian Games medallist Divij Sharan (Tennis) and Commonwealth Games medallist Chirag Shetty (Badminton) received the Arjuna Award while Commonwealth Games medallist Trupti Murgunde received the Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime contribution.
Batra & Sharma are IndianOil athletes to win the Khel Ratnaafter noted Badminton player and coach Pullela Gopichand.
Past IndianOil Arjuna Awardees include: Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Pullela Gopichand, P Kashyap, Abhinn Shyam Gupta, Sikki Reddy, Aditya Mehta, DV Prasad, SS Ganguly, D Harika, Deepak Thakur, Prabhjot Singh, VR Raghunath, Sharath Kamal, Soumyadeep Roy, Manika Batra and Rohan Bopanna.
“I heartily congratulate the winners of these national honours who have inspired many youngsters to take up sports actively. They have done the country and IndianOil proud. IndianOil takes pride in promoting sports, and the Corporation recognises sports as a tool for holistic development. Talented sportspersons are recruited in their formative years, and many of them have gone on to win laurels for the country and Corporation,” said Mr. Ranjan Kumar Mohapatra, Director (Human Resources), IndianOil.
Integral to IndianOil’s corporate philosophy, the Corporation has been promoting sports for over three decades now. Opportunities are provided to outstanding sports persons with a view to facilitate their performance in bringing laurels to the Nation and Corporation. The Corporation has identified ten games i.e. Cricket, Hockey, Badminton, Tennis, Table Tennis, Golf, Billiards/Snooker, Athletics, Chess & Carrom, as thrust games.
Over the years, IndianOil has recruited over 150 sportspersons and currently has on its rolls, over 90 active sportspersons representing various disciplines at international and national levels.
IndianOil plays an active part in promoting sports by supporting budding athletes from their formative years. The Corporation offers employment and a sports scholarship where athletes are supported from the grassroots.
