Long jumper M Sreeshankar won the Manorama Sports Star 2023 award in Kochi on Tuesday.
Indian tennis great Rohan Bopanna presented the 24-year-old Palakkad native with the award. Cricketer Sachin Baby was announced the first runner-up and para shooter Sidhartha Babu secured the second runner-up title.
Sreeshankar was presented a trophy and was richer by Rs 5 lakh. Sachin and Sidhartha were awarded trophies and a received a cash prize of Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 lakh respectively.
Manorama Sports Star 2023 - instituted by Malayala Manorama in association with Santa Monica Study Abroad - is Kerala's biggest sports award.
Sreeshankar is the first Indian track & field athlete to qualify for this year's Paris Olympics.
Coached by his father and former international triple jumper S Murali, Sreeshankar is one of the brightest stars in Indian athletics. Qualifying to the finals in the Paris Diamond League and the World Athletics Championships were some of his recent accomplishments.
With a personal best of 8.41 metres set last year, Sreeshankar is one of India's medal hopes in the upcoming Olympics.
Manorama Sports Club 2023
Meanwhile, Wayanad-based Darsana Arts and Sports Club clinched the Manorama Sports Club 2023 award. The club founded by a group of youngsters in 1994 has been a catalyst for social transformation in the village of Paplassery in the district.
Chakkalakkal HSS Sports Academy, Madavoor, Kozhikode, finished second, while Redlands Volleyball Centre, Varakkara, Thrissur, ended up third.
The first-prize winner received the Manorama Sports Club Award 2023 and a cash prize of Rs 3 lakh while the second and third place winners were awarded trophies and a purse of Rs 2 lakh and Rs 1 lakh respectively.
