Agra-based karting champion, Shahan Ali Mohsin has been nominated by the Federation of Motor Sport Clubs of India (FMSCI) for the 2020 Arjuna Award. Shahan's name is the third nomination to be submitted by the federation, which earlier announced the names of rally racers CS Santosh and Aishwarya Pissay for the highest honour in sports in the country. A young racer aged 15 years, Shahan has had an illustrious career as a karting racer having participated and won several national and international championships over the years.
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Shahan Ali Mohsin is a winner of the National Karting Championship for several years across different categories
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports allows up to three nominations from different departments. The sportspersons nominated need to have performed well in their respective field for the last four years at the international level to be eligible for the award. Out of the total nominations, only one person will be considered for the coveted award from each discipline. However, the rule could be relaxed on the basis of team sports and across gender.
Shahan has been actively racing since 2014 in national events. The young racer secured his first international win in 2016 in the Asian Karting Championship in Malaysia, becoming the first Indian of all ages to do so. He has since secured a podium finish at the Rotax Grand Festival in Austria and the Rotax Central European Championship. He also became the first Indian to represent the country in the IAME International Karting final at Le Mans, France last year.
If selected, Shahan will be the youngest recipient of the Arjuna Award in the motorsport discipline, and the first karting racer as well
Shahan is also a four-time national karting champion having won the series in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019. He also made his debut in the single-seater F1600 racing series last year.
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The 2020 Arjuna Award panel will now vet the nominations and the results will be announced by August 2020. If Shahan does win the honour, he will be the first karting champion to win the award and the youngest-ever from the motorsport fraternity. Ace rally driver Gaurav Gill was the recipient of the Arjuna Award last year, the first-ever from Indian motorsport.
