Virat Kohli-backed Indian Sports Honours will be held on Friday

Mumbai: The second edition of the Virat Kohli-backed Indian Sports Honours will be held on Friday when top performers in 17 sporting disciplines will be felicitated.

The annual ceremony, which was supposed to be held in February, was postponed as a mark of respect to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans, who were martyred in Pulwama in a terrorist attack.

The initiative has the backing of Sanjiv Goenka, Chairman, RP-SG Group and India captain Kohli.

The winners of 11 categories (Jury Honours) were decided by ISH Jury members, which comprised sporting champions such as Pullela Gopichand, Abhinav Bindra, Sardar Singh, Mahesh Bhupathi, P T Usha and Anjali Bhagwat.

Apart from the Jury Honours, there are six 'Popular Choice Honours' and winners were decided through an online voting process on Twitter.

The nominations in all the categories were shortlisted by 200 journalists from Sports Journalists Federation of India (SJFI).

"I always believe that sports is an integral part of every individual's life starting from school and eventually translating to supporting their favourite athletes on TV and during sporting events. I am confident that these awards are a stepping stone which will further encourage talent to excel in their own category of sports," Kohli said.

Goenka, on his part, said: "We are thrilled to host the second edition of the Indian Sports Honours. Indian athletes showcase hard work and perseverance consistently to put India on the world map for their sport.

"It is very important for us to recognize and celebrate these athletes in order to motivate them to continue their excellent performances."