Will continue to play till the time my body allows: Ishant Sharma after winning Arjuna Award

After being honoured with the prestigious Arjuna Award on the ocassion of National Sports Day 2020, Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma thanked the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for the recognisation and said that he will continue to play for the national team till the time his body allows.

Sharma was among 27 sportspersons who were conferred with this year's Arjuna Award, which is given to recognize outstanding achievement in sports.

However, the Indian pacer couldn't attend the National Sports Awards ceremony which was conducted virtually for the first time amid coronavirus pandemic with President Ram Nath Kovind also connecting online from the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday.

Ishant, who is currently in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with Delhi Capitals for the upcoming 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), took to his official Twitter handle and wrote that he is extremely honoured to receive the award while also congratulating his fellow awardees for the same.

"Extremely grateful and honoured to receive the #ArjunaAward! Congratulations to fellow awardees for the same! Thanks for constant support and love from all of you!," Ishant tweeted.

Besides this, the 31-year-old also posted a statement saying that he will always strive to give his 100 per cent to his national side till the time his body allows.

"I realised my passion for cricket at a very young age, and since then I have been striving to give my 100% effort day in and day out. Every step I took to improve my game was aimed at taking India's name to a higher level. Till the time my body allows I will continue to do so, and by Gods grace after that as well. I sincerely thank the Ministry of Sports for this recognition," the fast bowler said.

"Lastly, a huge shoutout to BCCI for giving monumental support in this journey and the journey going forward. Not to forget. congratulations to all the fellow Arjuna Awardees," he added. 

Extremely grateful and honoured to receive the #ArjunaAward! Congratulations to fellow awardees for the same! Thanks for constant support and love from all of you pic.twitter.com/dLh5WnjnEo — Ishant Sharma (@ImIshant) August 29, 2020

A total of 74 sportspersons were chosen for the national awards, including five for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, eight for Dronacharya Award in Life- Time Category, five Dronacharya Award in regular category, a whopping 27 Arjuna awardees, 15 Dhyan Chand awardees. 

Ishant's fellow teammate Rohit Sharma was honoured with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, which is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of four years.

Just like Ishant, the Indian opener too missed the award ceremony due to his commitment with Mumbai Indians for the 13th edition of the lucrative T20 tournament, which is slated to take place from September 19 to November 10 across three venues in UAE--namely Sharjah,Abu Dhabi and Dubai.