The Chief Minister's Office of Maharashtra announced on Sunday, 7 June 2026 that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, alongside Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Union Minister of State Raksha Khadse, presented the Krida Bhushan Puraskar (Sports Excellence Award) to winning athletes and distinguished sports personalities at the closing ceremony of the Khasdar Krida Mahotsav 2026 in Nagpur.

Context

The Khasdar Krida Mahotsav (MP Sports Festival) is a Nagpur-based grassroots sports competition that brings together athletes from multiple disciplines under a single platform. The closing ceremony, referred to in the post as the 'Khasdar Krida Mahotsav 2026 Samaropa Samarambha' (closing function), served as the occasion for the formal distribution of awards recognising outstanding performance across 14 sports categories and 4 special categories.

The event drew together both state and central government leadership from the Nagpur region, underscoring its significance as more than a routine civic function. Nagpur, Maharashtra's winter capital, has increasingly served as a focal point for sports promotion in central India's Vidarbha belt.

Policy Backdrop

The Krida Bhushan Puraskar is Maharashtra's state-level sports recognition mechanism, honouring athletes and organisations across Olympic disciplines as well as traditional Indian games such as kho-kho, kabaddi, and yogasana. The award aligns with the broader national Khelo India programme, launched in 2017, which aims to expand grassroots sports infrastructure and competition pathways across all states.

Under Devendra Fadnavis-led administrations since 2014, Maharashtra has periodically organised state-level sports award ceremonies and rural sports festivals, reflecting a sustained institutional commitment to athlete recognition beyond metropolitan centres. The participation of Nitin Gadkari, whose parliamentary constituency is Nagpur, reinforces the Union government's visible stake in the region's sports ecosystem.

Awardees and Categories

The Krida Bhushan Puraskar was conferred upon 14 athletes spanning disciplines including volleyball, athletics, kho-kho, softball, handball, kabaddi, skating, chess, wrestling, badminton, yogasana, basketball, gymnastics, and swimming. The full list of awardees is as follows:

• Karmanya Chilkulwar — Volleyball
• Anjali Madavi — Athletics
• Siddhesh Satpute — Kho-Kho
• Urvashi Saneshwar — Softball
• Harpreet Singh Randhawa — Handball
• Mangala Dhabale — Kabaddi
• Aditi Dhande — Skating
• Shraddha Bajaj — Chess
• Nandini Sahu — Wrestling
• Nishika Gokhe — Badminton
• Bharat Delikar — Yogasana
• Gunjan Mantri — Basketball
• Avani Rathod — Gymnastics
• Aditri Payasi — Swimming

Special awards were also presented: Vijay Dangre was recognised as the outstanding organiser (Utkrusht Sanghatак), Ravindra Tong as outstanding coach (Utkrusht Prashikshak), Umesh Naidu as sports volunteer (Kridasevak), and the Young Muslim Football Club as the outstanding sports body (Utkrusht Krida Mandal).

Stakeholders and Impact

The awards span a notably diverse set of disciplines — from mainstream sports like badminton and swimming to traditional Indian games like kabaddi and kho-kho, and even yogasana — reflecting a deliberate policy of broad-based sports promotion in the Vidarbha region. The recognition of a football club with a minority community identity as the outstanding sports body signals an inclusive approach to grassroots sport governance.

For athletes from non-metro Vidarbha, state-level recognition of this kind can open pathways to higher competition tiers, including selection pipelines linked to the Khelo India Games and national championships.

What's Next

The participation of senior Union and state ministers at the closing ceremony may signal follow-up announcements on sports infrastructure investment in the Nagpur division. Observers will watch whether awardees from this edition of the Khasdar Krida Mahotsav go on to represent Maharashtra at national competitions, and whether the event's format is expanded in future editions.