Sharath Kamal was voted the Sportsperson of the Year in the annual Indian Oil Sports Conclave at an impressive function in New Delhi on Monday.
Sharath, a Chennai-based Chief Manager who turned 37 last week, was among the five nominees for whom votes were polled by over 60 elite sportspersons employed with the oil major.
The other nominees were cricketer Cheteshwar Pujara, Grandmaster B, Adhiban, hockey player Simranjeet Singh and table tennis player Manika Batra.
ADVERTISEMENT
A delighted Sharath said, “It is a great honour to be chosen ahead of such achievers. After my parents, Indian Oil has played a major role in my career. In 2003, they took me when I was not even a National champion. Sine then, they have taken care of all my needs and it is an absolute privilege to be part of the Indian Oil family.”
The annual conclave, attended by the majority of 87 active sportspersons employed by Indian Oil, brought together under one roof, Rohan Bopanna, Pujara, Sharath, Prithvi Shaw, Simranjeet, badminton coach P. Gopi Chand, table tennis coach Soumyadeep Roy and several members of the National hockey team, among others.
Prominent among those who could not attend the function were cricketer Rohit Sharma, Manika, shuttler P. Kashyap and Grandmaster D. Harika.
ADVERTISEMENT
Speaking on the occasion, IOCL’s Director (HR) Ranjan K. Mohapatra announced that the company planned to add sports like “football, boxing, volleyball, basketball, shooting, archery, wrestling and kabaddi as the thrust games and recruit players. We are also in the process of including Paralympic players in our scheme of things.”