Table tennis player Soumyajit Ghosh arrived at Siliguri from New Delhi on Tuesday, a day after he was conferred with the Arjuna Award by President Pranab Mukherjee.

The paddler, who represented the country in the Rio Olympics, was welcomed by 300-odd youths at Bagdogra airport.

The third Arjuna awardee from the town was then taken to the Siliguri Municipal Corporation building in an open jeep escorted by 100-odd motorcycles.

At the SMC, the 23-year-old paddler was felicitated by mayor Asok Bhattacharya (in picture by Kundan Yolmo) and others. He was presented with a cheque of Rs 25,000, a certificate and a memento.

"I am overwhelmed to see the people who welcomed me. Such appreciation would encourage me to perform better. I am focusing on the Commonwealth Games that would be held in Australia in 2018 and the Tokyo Olympics of 2020," said the resident of Ghoshpara in ward 17.

Soumyajit is the third table tennis player from Siliguri to get the Arjuna Award.

Mantu Ghosh and Subhajit Saha, both from town, received the award in 2002 and 2006, respectively.

At the Rio Olympics, Soumyajit lost to his opponent from Thailand in the first rounds.

The mayor said Soumyajit had made Siliguri proud. "We would love to felicitate him time and again and we want to see him excel further in table tennis," he said.

Trinamul councillors felicitated Soumyajit separately.

Nantu Pal, the leader of opposition at the SMC, alleged that they were told about the programme in the morning. "We don't want to indulge in politics on the issue and we have felicitated Soumyajit separately," he said.

Text by Bireswar Banerjee