Rowers (from left) Pramila Minz, Pratima Puhan, Ambusena Devi and Coach J.Jacob being felicitated in Cuttack. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Nov. 28: Pratima Puhan and Pramila Minz continue to bask in the glory of their bronze-winning feat at the just concluded 16th Asian Games.

On Saturday, the Orissa Association for Rowing and Sculling (OARS) felicitated the duo for becoming the first Indian women to win a medal at the Guangzhou Games.

The two girls from the state had clocked 7:47:50 seconds to win the bronze in the rowing women’s pair event. China and Kazakshtan were the gold and silver medal winners.

At the S.A.G. Water Sports Centre in Jagatpur, the Synergy Engineering College honoured them with cash award of Rs 25,000 each.

“This is a small way to encourage the players. Our main target is Olympics and we are sure that the players would continue to perform better for the state and country,” OARS secretary Binod Dash said.

Elated at the felicitation, Puhan said: “I am happy that the people across the state are proud on our success. Such encouragements would definitely help us to perform better in the future.”

To encourage the girls, secretary, Orissa Olympic Association (OOA), Ashirbad Behera, announced a cash prize of Rs 25,000 for each winner.

Not to be left behind, the Cuttack District Athletic Association (CDAA) has announced Rs 10,000 for local girl Pratima.

The state government had earlier announced Rs 3 lakh each for both the rowers. Besides the duo, coach J. Jacob and Amubusena Devi, who finished fourth in the event, was also felicitated.

Jacob said that the players overcame stiff challenge to beat their opponents who were stronger than them in terms of weight and height. Under Jacob, who assumed charge as coach in 2000, the team has won 185 medals including 50 gold, 87 silver and 48 bronze medals in national and international championships.

There is also some good news for rowers as corporate giant Nalco has stepped in with a booty of Rs 5 lakh to help OARS develop the game and players in the state.