Bihar Goverenment honours top athletes and coaches on National Sports Day

Patna: On the occasion of National Sports Day, celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of legendary hockey player Major Dhyan Chand, outstanding athletes and coaches from Bihar were honoured at the Pataliputra Sports Complex on August 29, 2026. The chief guest, Patna High Court judge Justice Rana Vikram Singh, along with Bihar Advocate General Satyadarshi Sanjay and Director General of Police Vinay Kumar, presented mementoes to the state’s outstanding sportspersons and coaches.

Sports Department Secretary Deepak Anand, Bihar State Sports Authority Director General-cum-Chief Executive Officer Raveendran Sankaran, Sports Department Director Arif Ahsan, Assistant Director Sanjay Kumar, the Authority’s Executive Director Ravindra Nath Chaudhary, Deputy Director Himanshu Singh, Sports Executive Anandi Kumar and Chandan Kumar Singh were also present.

The 12 outstanding athletes honoured on the occasion were:

1. Piyush Raj — Athletics

2. Alpana Kumari — Rugby

3. Sapna Kumari — Rugby

4. Shruti Kumari — Football

5. Sneha Verma — Sepak Takraw

6. Tushar — Fencing

7. Mohammad Rayan — Chess

8. Jhandu Kumar — Powerlifting

9. Soman Rana — Shot Put

10. Setu Mishra — Athletics

11. Vibhaskar Kumar — Athletics

12. Sagar Prakash — Rugby

The coaches and referees honoured were:

1. Sandeep Kumar — Secretary, Bihar Para Sports Association and international para-athlete

2. Ranjit Rana — International kabaddi referee

3. Sunil Kumar Jha — Former Bihar hockey player

4. Gavin Ferreira — Former Olympian and international hockey player, currently a hockey coach

5. Sanjay Pathak — Founder and head coach, Rani Lakshmibai Academy, Siwan

Sports kits under the Sports Scholarship Scheme were also distributed to cycling players Prince Kumar, Sonu Kumar, Badal Kumar, Ragini Kumari and Srishti Kumari and Shreyansh Yadav.

Photo: Aftab Alam Siddiqui