Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government on August 15 honoured Karate exponent Reshma Sharma with the first 'Kalpana Chawla Award' for her work in the field of women empowerment.

Sharma, who became famous after overpowering a rapist in the United States by using chilly powder, received the award for imparting self-defence training methods to girls, blind and physically challenged women.

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.

ANI