In the first virtual national sports awards ceremony forced due to the coronavirus pandemic, a record 74 Indian sports heroes were honored on the anniversary of the birth of the legend of the hockey, Major Dhyan Chand, which takes place annually. like sports day in India.
- All five Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Laureates and 27 Arjuna Laureates, except a few, have registered in various cities to be honored by President Ram Nath Kovind. 60 out of 74 attended the virtual ceremony held at 11 Sports Authority of India (SAI) centers in various cities.
- While the winners of Khel Ratna, Rani Rampal (hockey), Manika Batra (TT), Mariyappan Thangavelu (Athletics) attended the ceremony, Rohit Sharma (Cricket) were lost due to IPL commitments 2020 and Vinesh Phogat (Wrestling)tested positive for the coronavirus respectively. As Manika connected from Pune, Mariyappan and Rani joined the SAI center in Bengaluru.
- Along with Rohit and Vinesh, winners Arjuna Ishant Sharma (Cricket) and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (Badminton) also missed the ceremony after the latter tested positive. Ishant is also in the United Arab Emirates for the upcoming IPL season.
- President Kovind applauded as the names of the award-winning attendees were spoken and their accomplishments cited, as was the convention. “This is the first COVID-era awards ceremony that the president has attended,” Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said at the start of the ceremony.
- The prize money for the Khel Ratna has been increased to Rs 25 lakh from the previous amount of Rs 7.5 lakh. The Arjuna laureates, 22 of whom attended the ceremony, received Rs 15 lakh, which is Rs 10 lakh more than the above sum.
- Dhronacharya (lifetime) laureates, who had previously received Rs 5 lakh, received Rs 15 lakh, while regular Dhronacharya came with Rs 10 lakh instead of Rs 5 lakh per scholar.
- Dhyanchand fellows received Rs 10 lakh instead of Rs 5 lakh. Former Indian athletics coach Purushotham Rai, 79, died of a heart attack on Friday, hours before receiving the Dronacharya Award, the most important athletic award for a coach in India.
- Purushottam Rai’s name was announced for this year’s Dronacharya Awards and he was scheduled to participate in Bengaluru’s Virtual Congratulations Program. He was even present at the rehearsals of the congratulatory ceremony for Vikasa Soudha scheduled for Saturday, National Sports Day.
Full list of National Sports Award winners
- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award: Rohit Sharma (Cricket), Mariyappan Thangavelu (Para Athletics), Manika Batra (Table Tennis), Vinesh Phogat (Wrestling), Rani Rampal (Hockey).
- Arjuna Award: Atanu Das (Archery), Dutee Chand (Athletics), Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy (Badminton), Chirag Chandrasekhar Shetty (Badminton), Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (Basketball), Manish Kaushik (Boxing), Lovlina Borgohain (Boxing), Ishant Sharma (Cricket), Deepti Sharma (Cricket), Sawant Ajay Anant (Equestrian), Sandesh Jhingan (Football), Aditi Ashok (Golf), Akashdeep Singh (Hockey), Deepika (Hockey), Deepak (Kabaddi), Kale Sarika Sudhakar (Kho Kho), Dattu Baban Bhokanal (Rowing), Manu Bhaker (Shooting), Saurabh Chaudhary (Shooting), Madhurika Patkar (Table Tennis), Divij Sharan (Tennis), Shiva Keshavan (Winter Sports), Divya Kakran (Wrestling), Rahul Aware (Wrestling), Suyash Narayan Jadhav (Para Swimming), Sandeep (Para Athletics), Manish Narwal (Para Shooting).
- Dronacharya Award (Life- Time Category): Dharmendra Tiwary (Archery), Purushotham Rai (Athletics), Shiv Singh (Boxing), Romesh Pathania (Hockey), Krishan Kumar Hooda (Kabaddi), Vijay Bhalchandra Munishwar (Para Powerlifting), Naresh Kumar (Tennis), Om Parkash Dahiya (Wrestling).
- Regular Category: Jude Felix (Hockey), Yogesh Malviya (Mallakhamb), Jaspal Rana (Shooting), Kuldeep Kumar Handoo (Wushu), Gaurav Khanna (Para Badminton).
- Dhyan Chand Award: Kuldip Singh Bhullar (Athletics), Jincy Philips (Athletics), Pradeep Shrikrishna Gandhe (Badminton), Trupti Murgunde (Badminton), N Usha(Boxing), Lakha Singh (Boxing), Sukhvinder Singh Sandhu (Football), Ajit Singh (Hockey), Manpreet Singh (Kabaddi), J Ranjith Kumar (Para Athletics), Satyaprakash Tiwari (Para Badminton), Manjeet Singh (Rowing), Late Shri Sachin Nag (Swimming), Nandan Bal (Tennis), Netarpal Hooda (Wrestling).
- Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards: Anita Devi (Land Adventure), Col Sarfraz Singh (Land Adventure), Taka Tamut (Land Adventure), Narender Singh (Land Adventure), Keval Hiren Kakka (Land Adventure), Satendra Singh (Water Adventure), Gajanand Yadava (Air Adventure), Late Magan Bissa (Life Time Achievement).
- Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy: Panjab University, Chandigarh
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