Mohun Bagan to honour Arumainayagam, Paes, Wriddhiman

Kolkata, July 26 (IANS) Former soccer international and 1962 Asian Games gold medallist I. Arumainayagam would be awarded the Mohun Bagan Ratna, the highest award of the 125-year-old club.

Arumainayagam, a winger known for his speedy bursts down the left, turned out for eight years for the city giants in the 1960s.

An emergent meeting of the club's executive committee Saturday decided to honour Arumainayagam "for his great contribution to Indian football and for serving the club loyally".

The award would be given as part of the celebrations for Mohun Bagan Day at a date and venue to be announced later.

Tennis ace Leander Paes would be presented the Sailen Manna Memorial Award for Best Sportsperson of the Year for winning the US Open men's doubles title in 2013 partnering Czech Radek Stepanek.

Japanese footballer Katsumi Yusa would get the Karuna Sankar Bhattacharjee Award for Best Footballer of the Year, while the Dhiren Dey Award for Best Cricketer of the Year goes to Jayojit Basu.

Wriddhiman Saha would be felicitated for his century in the IPL final match, Laxmi Ratan Shukla for earning 100 Ranji Trophy caps and Mohammad Sami for making his Test debut.