Pune-based Akash Chikte, who achieved a breakthrough by clinching a crucial place as goalkeeper in the Hockey Indian Senior Men’s team and Nashik-based Grandmaster Vidit Santosh Gujrathi, who became the fourth Indian chess player to cross the 2,700 ELO rating points, are the joint winners of the Sports Journalists’ Association of Mumbai (SJAM) Golden Jubilee Awards 2017.
The awards, supported by Star Sports, will be presented at the Bombay Gymkhana on October 23.
The 25-year-old Chikte was part of the Indian team that won the Asian Champions Trophy last year in Malaysia and the 22-year-old Gujrathi crossed the 2,700 ELO points rating while representing Team Solvay in the Spanish Team Championship League in Linares recently.
Gujrathi is the fourth Indian — after Viswanathan Anand, Pentala Harikrishna and Krishnan Sasikiran — to achieve the creditable ELO rating that reflects the skill levels of a chess player.
Mumbai’s Aditi Dhumatkar has been chosen for the Sportswoman of the Year award; she had won the 50m and 100m freestyle gold medals at the 70th Glenmark Senior National Aquatic Championship at Ranchi last year and also the 200m freestyle silver medal. The Maharashtra women’s team won the team award then.
Pune’s Abhimanyu Puranik, who became India’s 49th Grandmaster was chosen for the Junior Sportsman of the Year award, while Mumbai’s Rayna Saldhana (swimming) and Diya Chitale (Table Tennis), were picked for the Junior Sportswoman of the year award.
Prashant More has been chosen as Sportsman of the Year (Indian Games); he won the men’s singles of the World Carrom Championship at Birmingham in 2016.
