Jamshedpur-based K. Prabhakar Rao to be bestowed with Lifetime Achievement Award 

JOA to honour the veteran sports administrator during the Jharkhand State Awards in Ranchi on Friday

Mail News Service

Jamshedpur, August 10: Jharkhand Olympic Association (JOA) will bestow veteran badminton administrator K. Prabhakar Rao with the Lifetime Achievement Award for his unstinted efforts in channelising the sport in the state and the country.

The award will be presented to Jamshedpur-based Rao at a function to be staged at R.K. Anand Bowls Green , Namkum, Ranchi on Friday. The event is part of the Jharkhand State Awards ceremony. The event is dedicated to honouring dedicated exceptional personalities who have displayed remarkable results in the name of sports as an administrator.

In a letter to Rao, JOA secretary general M.K. Pathak praised him (Rao) for his remarkable journey as a sports administrator which is nothing short of inspirational.”Your presence will make the ceremony to accept the well deserved award in recognition of your remarkable work more special. Your presence will serve as an inspiration to countless others who aspire to follow in your footsteps”, Pathak wrote.

Rao, secretary of Jharkhand Badminton Association (JBA) thanked JOA for bestowing him with the honour. “I am thankful to JOA for the honour, I would continue to work for the promotion of badminton across Jharkhand,” he added.

The seasoned sports administrator has officiated in various capacities as part of the national shuttle squad. He went to Haarlem, Netherlands for the Yonex Dutch Junior International in 2019 and Berlin, Germany for the Yonex German Junior International in March 2020.

Rao was the observer during All India Senior Major Ranking Championship in Bangalore (2013), 78th Senior National Meet in New Delhi (2013).All InJunior Major Ranking Championship in Bangalore (2016) and east zone in Madhubani (2013).

Rao has worked hard when it comes to channelising badminton activities across Jharkhand. A religious person, he keeps himself fit with yoga and shuttle.

The Paralympic Committee of India and Badminton Association of India had appointed Rao as coach and manager of India’s shuttle squad for the 2020 Paralympic Games held in Tokyo, Japan from August 24 to September 5.

Rao, secretary of Jharkhand Badminton Association (JBA) and joint secretary of Badminton Association of India (BAI) is the second sports administrator from the state who  headed to Tokyo as the member of the national contingent. Ranchi-based Madhukant Pathak accompanied the India athletics squad as a manager 2020 Olympics Games in Japan.

A seasoned sports administrator, Rao had said his appointment was a lifetime achievement and thanked BAI and PCI for the same.