(From top) Ravi Kumar, Srabani Nanda, and Prabodh Tirkey. Telegraph pictures

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 20: One of the three achievers of the state, who has made the country proud at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games (CWG) in New Delhi, has remained an unsung hero in the CWG saga.

While Behrampur boy K. Ravi Kumar won a gold medal in the men’s 69kg weightlifting event at the CWG and set a new record with a total lift of 321kg, leading to a flurry of celebration in the entire state, another success for the state came in the form of a bronze medal when sprinter Srabani Nanda ranked third in the women’s 4x100mt relay event. She had earlier won gold in the same event at the Youth Commonwealth Games held in Pune in 2008. She also won bronze medals in 100mt and 200mt sprint events of the South Asian Games (SAF) in Colombo three years ago.

However, the achievements of ace hockey player Prabodh Tirkey, former captain of the national hockey team, who won a silver medal for the country – has, evidently, been neglected.

Last Saturday, the chief minister announced cash prizes of Rs 10 lakh and 3 lakh respectively for winners Ravi Kumar and Srabani Nanda. A homestead land for gold medallist Ravi Kumar has also been granted by the state government, while the government has allegedly overlooked Tirkey’s rightful claims to rewards.

According to his younger brother and hockey player Pratap, all this have left Tirkey “disappointed”. “It is natural for him to be upset when his rightful claim is ignored. I spoke to Prabodh and he seemed disappointed. I also felt upset since no awards were announced for him. Even hockey lovers feel disheartened,” said Pratap.

“Despite hockey being the national game, the government and the hockey federation hardly provides any encouragement to us. Our state has always produced hockey players of national repute. But, unfortunately they have not received their due recognitions,” he added.