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Men in Blue Team of the Year

Last updated on: November 10, 2009 18:32 IST
Deepika Padukone (left) felicitates India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone presents India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni with the Team of the Year award at the Sahara India Sports Awards, in Mumbai, on Monday.

The winners under different categories were selected by a 13-person jury, comprising living legends from different sports disciplines like cricket, billiards, tennis, golf, squash, hockey, athletics, boxing, badminton, football, chess, table tennis etc. Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar was chairman of the jury.

Bollywood stars sizzle

Last updated on: November 10, 2009 18:32 IST
Dhoni (center) speaks as Harbhajan Singh (right) and Deepika look on

The Indian cricket team got the award for consistent performances in 2008-09, during which they won in West Indies, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

Bollywood stars like Deepika Padukone, Dia Mirza, Neha Dhupia, Koena Mitra performed along with Shaimak Davar and boxer Vijender Singh at the event.

Gambhir Cricketer of the Year

Last updated on: November 10, 2009 18:32 IST
Neha Dhupia (left) with Gautam Gambhir

Gautam Gambhir gets the Cricketer of the Year award from Bollywood actress Neha Dhupia.

Arjuna Award winner Prakash Padukone was conferred the 'Legend Honour'. The former badminton ace was one of the top players in his era, having won the Danish and Swedish Opens and the coveted men's singles title at the All England Championship.

Bindra's gold still sparkles

Last updated on: November 10, 2009 18:32 IST
Yuvraj Singh, Riya Sen with Abhinav Bindra

Yuvraj Singh and Riya Sen presented Abhinav Bindra the Memorable moment of the Year award.

Bindra won the award for his gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, India's first individual gold medal in the history of the Games.

Vijender thrills with dance

Last updated on: November 10, 2009 18:32 IST
Vijender Singh

Vijender Singh performs on stage during the awards ceremony.

Former India hockey player Sylvanus Dung Dung was honoured with the 'Unsung Hero' award. He was a gold medalist at the Moscow Olympics in 1980, when India won the last of its eight gold medals. He successfully coached the Central Command team from Lucknow to four sequentially triumphs in the Army Hockey Championship. 

He was felicitated with a monetary incentive of Rs 500,000 for the outstanding contribution to Indian hockey.

Vijender 'Outstanding' performer

Last updated on: November 10, 2009 18:32 IST
Sachin Tendulkar (left) with Vijender Singh

Master batsman Sachin Tendulkar felicitates Vijender Singh with the Outstanding Performance award.

Vijender won a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics and followed it up with another bronze medal at the World Championships earlier this year.