Ganguly, Paes and Dilip Tirkey receive Lifetime Achievement honours

It was a rare occasion where three icons of Indian sport – Leander Paes, Sourav Ganguly and Olympian hockey star Dilip Tirkey were honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award by the Calcutta Sports Journalists’ Club (CSJC) on Friday. The trio lent sheen to the annual awards ceremony of the club, which awards top achievers in each discipline.

 ‘’It’s a special moment to be felicitated by two legends – Sourav (Ganguly) and Leander (Paes),’’ remarked Tirkey, who has had 400-plus international caps and is currently the president of Hockey India. Ganguly, former Indian skipper and BCCI president, has started his second innings as a president of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) while Olympic bronze medallist Paes is set to take over as the president of Bengal Tennis Association (BTA).

 Kolkata-based Ayhika Mukherjee, a national table tennis star who assured the country podium finishes in last Asian Games and Asian Championships, was named the Best Sportsperson of the Year while chess wonderkid Sarbartho Mani was adjudged the Best Junior Sportsperson. Kibu Vicuna, the journeyman football coach of Diamond Harbour FC – an emerging force in Indian football – was named the Best Coach.

 Akash Deep, the Indian fast bowler who plies his trade for Bengal in domestic cricket, was adjudged the Best Cricketer of the Year and Subhashis Bose – Mohun Bagan defender and international – figured among the other major awardees.