India hockey goalkeeper Krishan Pathak, who received the Arjuna Award from President of India Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Tuesday, believes the prestigious award could not have come at a better time.

“It’s the start of the year, so this award will motivate me to do well at all the upcoming tournaments this year,” Pathak, 26, told mid-day over the phone from Delhi.
The wily custodian was born in Nepal before his family migrated to Punjab, where he picked up hockey and excelled in it. He rose to fame after brilliantly manning the post in India’s 2016 Junior World Cup win at Lucknow.