Lucknow: Four sportspersons from Uttar Pradesh — Paris Olympic hockey medallist Raj Kumar Pal from Ghazipur, rower Arvind Singh from Bulandshahr, race walker Priyanka Goswami from Meerut and shooter Akhil Sheoran from Baghpat — have been selected for the Arjuna Award for outstanding performance in sports and games.Two boxing coaches from the state, Chhote Lal Yadav from Varanasi and Sambhal’s Dharmendra Singh Yadav, have been chosen for the Dronacharya Award.“I got emotional when I came to know about the award. Soon after the news came in, congratulatory messages started pouring in,” said Pal, a deputy superintendent of police in Uttar Pradesh, who is currently in the Netherlands with the Indian hockey team.He said the award was the first such recognition for his village, Karampur, in Ghazipur district.“The award may have come late, but it has come rightly. I am very happy and grateful to the people and the govt for the love showered on me,” he said.Manager of Meghbaran Singh Stadium in Karampur, Aniket Singh, visited Pal’s house to celebrate the moment and offered sweets to Pal’s family members.Race walker Priyanka Goswami, a silver medallist at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, expressed happiness over being selected for the award.Goswami, who is currently training at the Sports Authority of India centre in Bengaluru for the Asian Games, said she learnt about the honour after the morning training session.“Some athletes from Meerut received the award last year, and that had raised my hopes too. I was not selected then, but I am grateful that recognition has finally come,” Goswami said.Asian Games shooting medallist Akhil Sheoran, a deputy superintendent of police in Uttar Pradesh, said the award was a moment of pride for him.“I am thankful and delighted to get this award. I had applied twice for this award, and this time I have been selected for a major sports honour,” Sheoran said.Rower Arvind Singh said he was delighted to receive the news while preparing for an international championship.“I am very happy to get this award. Currently, I am training in Belgium for the World Championship and tomorrow I will move to the Netherlands for the championship. It is a proud moment for me and my family,” Singh said.
