Child prodigies of Udaipur occupied a substantial section of the stage at the Awards ceremony held on the occasion of the 68^th Republic Day Celebrations at Maharana Bhupal Stadium (Gandhi Ground) on 26^th January 2017.

If the morning showers were something to go by, the entire celebrations would have been dampened, but the Rain Gods showed mercy and Udaipur was allowed to celebrate the Republic Day with full pomp and show at the main grounds of the city.

Home Minister Gulab Chand Katariya was the Chief Guest at the District Event held at the Maharana Bhupal Stadium.  Among the various cultural programs presented in front of the special guests and audience at the venue, the major and most anticipated for many people were the Annual appreciation awards.  In all, 101 recipients were awarded for their services, show of valor and achievements encompassing a vat range of activities.

However, of the 101 awardees, there were 14 Children mostly at School level, who were honored for their performances in Sports, Academics and Extra Curriculars.

The youngest of the lot to be awarded at the event was Labdhi Surana, 6 years of age and a student at Rockwoods, Udaipur.  Labdhi secured a Gold Medal at the 500 meter race and a Silver in the 300 meter race at the RECKO Roller International Speed Skating Championship held in Belgium this year.

Uma Krishnawat, a student at the Law College, MLSU, Udaipur, was honored for being selected to participate in the R-day celebrations held at the national capital last year.  Rishiraj Rathore, a student of Class XI at Alok School, Udaipur, was felicitated for securing a Gold Medal in the 800 meter race, a Silver in Shotput and a Bronze in the 200 meter race, at the State Level Para-Athletics Championship held in 2016.

Vasundhra Singh Chauhan was the other swimmer who was awarded for securing the Gold medal in the 61^st State Level School Tournament and also selected for the state team to participate at the National level.

Tina Gameti from the Government Girls School at Teelakheda, Girwa was felicitated for her performance in the 62^nd National School Games Softball Tournament as a part of the Rajasthan U-17 team, while Vivek Janghid from the Fateh High School, Udaipur was felicitated for representing the Rajasthan U-19 team at the 62^nd National School Games Hockey Tournament in 2016.

Ranjeet Mehta, a student of class 7^th at the Kendriya Vidhyalaya #2, Eklingarh, was awarded for securing Gold in the 35kg Category in Judo at the 47^th Kendriya Vidhyalaya Sangthan Sports Tournament.  Ayush Lodha, Class 8^th, MDS School was honored for getting home a Gold in Chess at the Inter School Sports and Games Competition 2016-17.

Pratiti Vyas, who represented the Indian team at the World Dragon Boat Championship held in Moscow in Sept 2016 and securing a Bronze at the Inter University Kayaking and Canoeing Competition was among the other sports prodigies felicitated at the event.  Mauli Singhal, a student of Class Xth at the St Mary’s Convent, Titardi bought home a Gold Medal in the 50mtr Free style, 100mtr free style and 200mtr free style at the 61^st State Level School Competition, for which she was awarded at the ceremony.

Charul Chauhan, from the Government Girls School, Bambora was awarded for being selected as a Student Scientist at the National Meet and securing 8^th rank at the Inspired Award Exhibition and Project Competition 2016.

Lokesh Bheel from the Government School for the visually challenged at Udaipur, secured 100% marks in the RBSE Hindi Board Examination and was honored by the Department of Languages and Libraries, for which he was also felicitated at yesterday event.

Daksh Agarwal, a student of class VIIIth at St Pauls School, Udaipur, developed a Mobile App, named My Share App, which was successfully launched globally this year.

With 15% of the awardees being children, who performed at state and national level and made Udaipur proud, it is a great stepping stone into the world of sports and extra-curricular for the children, for which the administration should now take concrete steps to ensure that more facilities such as Khel Gaon be developed across the city and district so that lack of convenience and opportunities may not dampen the spirits of these and many other children.