As a player, Prashanti Singh has been able to dodge many an opponent over the years to score at the national and international level with distinction.
However, she has found the single most significant award for a sports person, the Arjuna award, quite elusive. Prashanti is the only Indian woman player to have competed in two Asian Games apart from the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006. She played her part to ensure that the Indian women stayed in the top-6 in the continent for many years, helping the team compete in the Asian Games.
The team has now slipped to the second level and is fighting to climb back to the top in the ongoing Asian Championship in Bengaluru.
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Prashanti led the side that competed in the Guangzhou Asian Games in 2010, 28 years after its previous appearance.
She has a record 22 national medals, including the gold in 2003 won against the formidable Railways, in the National championships, Federation Cup and National Games. She was the “most valuable player” in the Mahindra NBA championship in a nation-wide competition that featured around 6000 players.
Prashanti was part of the winning team in the South Asian Beach Games in 2011 and the silver medal-winning team of Asian Indoor Games in 2009.
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In the William Jones Cup in Chinese Taipei in 2011, Prashanti was the star in India’s rare victory over Korea.
From a humble and conservative background in Varanasi, Prashanti did remarkably well to be bestowed the Rani Laxmibai bravery award last year, for her inspirational journey in a highly competitive game, played in more than 200 countries. Her five international medals include two gold and two silver.
A year earlier, she was awarded the Purvanchal Ratna. She had also won the Shakti Samman and Lokmat Samman, the sports person of the year award in Lucknow in 2013.
From being recommended by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), and the National federation, Prashanti’s case has now been forwarded by the Sports Authority of India.