Sports Illustrated India congratulated the SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR and various other sports stars today at an evening soiree hosted by Vitara Breeza & Sports Illustrated India to celebrate their achievements. The evening held in presence of Chief Guest Nobel peace laureate: Kailash Satyarthi took place at the Peacock Ballroom, Pullman New Delhi Aerocity.
Dedicated to acknowledging the best in the domain of sports, the awards was an annual celebration of sportspersons who excel in their field, and serve as an inspiration to their peers and all others.
This year the Sports Illustrated India – Sports Person of the Year awards also witnessed an exclusive auction ceremony of personal memorabilia of sporting legends across all sporting genres. Co – hosted by Soha Ali Khan, this award ceremony was a perfect combination of sports and glamour as some of the biggest names came together to honor the country’s best sportspersons and their glorious achievements in recognition for permannces of the past year.
Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel peace laureate, said, “Playing is integral to childhood, yet why are millions of children deprived of their freedom to play?
Another hundreds and thousands of kids toil hard and remain enslaved in the supply chains of sports goods. They cannot even dream to play with these goods. Who’s children are they?Â
They are all our children!  Let us not neglect the rights of our children and their childhoods.â€
Mr. Siddhanth Aney, Editor, Sports Illustrated India said, “It is a rare honor to be able to host so many fantastic Indian athletes under one roof. Indian sport is on the move and our hope is to work together with all the other stakeholders to make India a true sporting nation“.
Mr. Vivek Pareek, Senior Publisher of Sports Illustrated India said, “Since its launch in 2009, Sports Illustrated India has embodied the spirit of sport. With the Sportsperson Of The Year Awards, we further deepen our commitment to the cause of sports and sports-based social initiatives. We’re very excited to take this further in the coming years.”
Every year Sports Illustrated India honors the individuals and teams that have made the biggest impact in the world of Indian Sport. The purpose is to recognize talent and performances that propel the nations sporting community to greatness. Past awards have celebrated the contributions of the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, & Saina Nehwal who were the Sportsman of the Year for 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2013 respectively.
Some of the  award categories in which the sportspersons were felicitated were  as follows:
- The Lifetime Achievement Award – Rahul Dravid
- The Sports Person Of The Year Award -Â Anirban Lahiri
- The Sporting Moment Of The Year Award -Â Ranveer and Sachin ( gold medallists from the Special Olympics World Games)
- The Athlete Of The Year Award -Â C.S Santosh
- The Sports Kid Of The Year Award -Â Subham Jaglan
- The Domestic Performance Of The Year Award -Â Chennaiyin FC
- The Editor’s Award For Excellence - Manu and Rajesh
- The Team Of The Year Award – India Men’s hockey team
- The Surprise Package of The Year Award - India Women’s Hockey Team
