Nari Contractor, MD Valsamma win Lifetime Achievement Award at Sportstar Aces Awards 2026

Former India captain Nari Contractor was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award (Male) at the Sportstar Aces Awards 2026 in Mumbai on Friday, an evening that celebrated not only a distinguished career but also one of Indian cricket’s most enduring stories of courage.

As Contractor walked on stage to receive the honour from Sunil Gavaskar, chairman of the Sportstar Aces Awards jury, and Jayen Mehta (MD, Amul), the packed ballroom rose in a rapturous standing ovation.

Nariman Jamshedji “Nari” Contractor was one of India’s finest opening batters of the late 1950s and early 1960s. A stylish left-hander with compact technique and immense resolve, he made his Test debut in 1955 and went on to play 31 Tests, scoring 1,611 runs at an average of 31.58, with a highest score of 108 and 11 half-centuries.

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In 1961, aged just 26, Contractor became India’s youngest Test captain at the time. Under his leadership, India secured a historic series victory over England in 1961-62, a landmark moment in the country’s cricketing journey.

Yet Contractor’s career is remembered as much for his bravery as for his runs. During India’s tour of the West Indies in 1962, he suffered a life-threatening injury after being struck on the head by a bouncer from fast bowler Charlie Griffith. The blow fractured his skull and required multiple surgeries. Contractor survived after receiving several blood transfusions, including one from West Indies captain Sir Frank Worrell.

Even after such trauma, Contractor returned to the game he loved, resuming domestic cricket and building a fine First-Class career. Across 138 matches, he scored 8,611 runs at an average close to 40, including 22 centuries.

For Gavaskar, presenting the award carried deep personal meaning.

“For me it is an incredible honour to be able to present this award to Nari bhai,” Gavaskar said, his voice thick with emotion.

Recalling Contractor’s example, Gavaskar spoke of a moment from the 1959 Lord’s Test that had left a lasting impression on him as a young boy.

“Very early in the innings he got hit in the chest by Brian Statham and broke a rib. But he carried on batting for another two or three hours and finally got out for 81. For somebody who was just looking at playing a little bit of street cricket, it was inspirational.”

The lesson, Gavaskar said, stayed with him. “If you want to be an opening batter, be prepared to take pain and bat for your country. You should be able to put your life on the line.”

Gavaskar also recalled a piece of advice from Contractor that shaped his own career.

“He once told me, ‘Sunil, write down in a diary every time you do well; what you did from the moment you woke up. Literally everything, from brushing your teeth to what you had for breakfast, how you went to the ground, where you sat, how you felt.’ And when you go through a bad patch, read that page again. It will give you the confidence that you can bat and score runs. I never forgot that advice from Nari bhai.”

Earlier, former Indian hurdler M. D. Valsamma was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award (Female), recognising her pioneering role in Indian athletics.

The Kannur-born athlete emerged as one of India’s leading track and field competitors in the late 1970s and 1980s, dominating the 400 m hurdles. She created history at the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi, winning gold with a time of 58.47 seconds that set both Asian and national records. The victory made her the second Indian woman to win an individual Asian Games gold and the first to do so on home soil.

Valsamma also represented India at the 1984 Summer Olympics, where the Indian women’s 4×400 m relay team reached the final for the first time in the country’s Olympic history. Over a career spanning nearly 15 years, she competed across Asian Games, Asian championships and SAF Games, becoming one of the trailblazers of women’s athletics in India.

She received the award from former India women’s cricket captain Diana Edulji and Jayen Mehta.

Published on Mar 13, 2026