Ahmedabad Mirror had more than one reason to celebrate at the Gujarat Media Awards (GMA) 2026, as its reporter Kushal Golwelkar and sister publication NavGujarat Samay's Asmita Dave brought home honours, underscoring the strength of the group's newsroom talent.
Veteran journalist and Padma Shri awardee Devendra Patel was conferred the Lifetime Achievement Award at the event, held at Tagore Hall in Paldi on Tuesday.
Kushal Golwelkar received the Best Sports Story award from state Cabinet minister Rushikesh Patel. Meghna Dev received the Jury Special Award, while Asmita Dave of NavGujarat Samay was recognised for Best Entertainment Story. The annual event recognises journalists across categories for excellence in reporting, storytelling and public impact.
Other awardees included Toral Kavi (Best Anchor, Female), Janak Dave (Best Anchor, Male), Khyati Bajpai Jain (Best Business Story), Bharat Rabari (Best Cartoonist), Deval Thoriya (Best Columnist), Payal Rathod (Best Education Story), Vijay Chauhan (Best Feature Story), Pratik Jadav (Best Health Story), Jignesh Patel (Best Inspiration Story), Krishna Patel (Best Effective Story), Jaydeepkumar Parmar (Best Investigation Story), Amit Dave (Best Photographer), Jay Thadeshwar (Best Podcaster), Yagnik Parikh (Best Political Story), Ramesh Tanna (Best Positive Story), Bhavini Dabgar (Best Regional Story), Mit Trivedi (Best RJ) and Jay Shukla (Best Web Story).
Patel said the media, as the fourth pillar of democracy, plays a crucial role in shaping society. He added that such platforms encourage journalists, particularly at the grassroots level, to continue pursuing impactful and responsible reporting. Organised by Media Welfare Trust and Sun Media Services, the event was steered by Ankit Hingu and his team, who ensured the proceedings ran seamlessly.