Pankaj Advani refuses to accept Ekalavya award

World billiards champion Pankaj Advani on Saturday declined to accept the Ekalavya award for the year 2004 and did not turn up for the function.

The ace billiards champion had expressed his displeasure for not being given due recognition by the state government.

When contacted, Advani's family confirmed that he had not attended the function.

Meanwhile, 82 sportspersons, including cricketers Sunil Joshi and Dodda Ganesh, hockey player Sandeep Michael and physcially challenged tennis player, Bonniface Prabhu were conferred the Ekalavya Award for the years 2002-06 by Governor Rameshwar Thakur at the function.

The awardees included 10 women, five physically challenged persons and 14 police personnel.