BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: Shamsul Alam Monju, one of the iconic footballers of the early 80s, receives his medallion from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during the National Sports Awards ceremony at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium yesterday. Monju received the award as a football organiser for the year 2009. Photo: PID

The National Sports Awards for the years 2008 and 2009 were formally distributed among 19 players and organisers on Thursday. The awards were given in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the development of sports both at national and international levels.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina handed over the awards at a function at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium in the city. During the function, the prime minister called upon the private organisations and individuals to supplement government efforts for development of the country's games and sports.
Hasina said her government has undertaken various short- and long-term plans for the sports sector to improve the standard of the country's games and sports.
State Minister for Youth and Sports Ahad Ali Sarkar and secretary for youth and sports Mahbub Ahmed also spoke on the occasion.
Each recipient was presented with a gold medal, Tk 20,000 and a certificate.
AWARDEES OF 2009
Dewan Shafiul Arefin Tutul (footballer and organiser), Badal Roy (football), AM Naimur Rahman Durjoy (cricket), Shamsul Alam Monju (football organiser), Anjan Chowdhury Pintu (organiser), Shahed Asgar Chowdhury (organiser), Hamida Begum (athletics and organiser), Shamim Ara Toly (athletics) (posthumous), Mohammad Mohsin (hockey) and Mostafa Kamal (volleyball).
AWARDEES OF 2008
Sunil Krishna Dey (football), Lt (retd) Mohammad Amzad Hossain (athletics), Senior Warrant Officer (retd) M Lutfor Rahman (swimming), M Ruhal Amin (weightlifting), Khandakar Abul Hasan (volleyball), Saidul Haque Sadi (table tennis), Brigadier General M Showkat Hossain (body building), Syed Abdul Majid Koran (cricket) and Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (kabadi).