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Kabaddi star Pooja expressed pride and happiness after receiving the prestigious Arjuna Award 2025, and dedicated the honour to her grandfather and the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India (AKFI) for their support.
Speaking to ANI after receiving the award, Pooja described the occasion as a proud moment for herself and her family. "It feels really good. It is a very proud moment for me and my family. First of all, I would like to dedicate this to my grandfather, and also to the AKFI federation [for their support]," Pooja told ANI. Asked what message she would like to give to young players who are motivated by her achievements, Pooja encouraged them to remain focused and continue working hard. "To them, just keep working hard, because hard work always pays off," she added. Pooja was among the athletes conferred with the Arjuna Award, 2025 by President Droupadi Murmu in recognition of her outstanding achievements in kabaddi.She won medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games and the Sixth Asian Kabaddi Championship. In a post shared on the official X handle of the President of India, the post read, " President Smt. Droupadi Murmu presented the Arjuna Award, 2025 to Ms. Pooja for her outstanding achievements in kabaddi. Ms. Pooja won medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games and the Sixth Asian Kabaddi Championship," the official handle of President of India wrote on X. https://x.com/rashtrapatibhvn/status/2121156191401468188?a=AQfl9qr3FJGA2UTgrkI&s=20 he National Sports Awards are given every year to recognise and reward excellence in sports. Based on the recommendations of the Selection Committee chaired by a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice (Retd.) Arun Kumar Mishra, the Government has decided to confer awards on the following sportspersons, coaches and entities under various categories. The 'Arjuna Award for outstanding performance in Sports and Games' is given for good performance over a period of the previous four years and for showing qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and a sense of discipline. The athletes who received award are: Tejaswin Shankar (athletics), Muhammad Ajmal Variyathodi (athletics), Priyanka Goswami (athletics), Treesa Jolly (badminton), Gayatri Gopichand (badminton), Narender (boxing), Vidit Santosh Gujarathi (chess) Divya Jitendra Deshmukh (chess), Dhanush Srikanth (deaf shooting), Lalremsiami (hockey), Rajkumar Pal (hockey), Surjeet (kabaddi), Pooja (kabaddi), Rudransh Khandelwal (para-shooting), Ekta Bhyan (para-shooting), Arvind Singh (rowing) and Akhil Sheoran (shooting). (ANI)
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