New Delhi, June 20 -- Neeraj Chopra and Parul Chaudhary were presented with the Best Athlete Awards, male and female, respectively, at the inaugural Indian Athletics Awards here on Saturday evening. Shahnavaz Khan and Pooja were named the Best Emerging Athletes at a glittering ceremony here.

Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya gave away the awards instituted by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI). A galaxy of dignitaries, including World Athletics Vice President Adille J Sumariwalla, Korottage Bimal Prasanna, President, Sri Lanka Athletics, Mohamed Tholal, Sports Commissioner of Maldives, were at hand to celebrate excellence across the Indian athletics ecosystem, according to a release.

"Indian athletics ha...