Reshma Sharma bags first Kalpana Chawla award

Karate exponent Reshma Sharma became the first recipient of the Tamil Nadu Government’s ‘Kalpana Chawla award’ for courage and daring enterprise. The award was presented by state Chief Minister, J Jayalalitha, on the occasion of the country's 56th Independence Day. Sharma received a gold medal and a cash award of Rs five lakh. The state government instituted the award in February to honour the Indian-born NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) scientist Kalpana Chawla, who tragically died while returning home in the Columbia space shuttle.

Ms Sharma has specialised in providing training to girls to protect themselves from sexual abuse. She also teaches the blind and physically-challenged women on various methods of self-protection, an official release here said.

She became famous for her demonstration in the United States on overpowering a rapist using chilly powder, the release said, adding that she was running a school to provide training to women to fight the evils perpetrated against them and face the society courageously.