President presents Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award to four athletes

Fifteen sportspersons were honoured with the Arjuna Award and three with the Dhyan Chand Award.

August 29, 2016 12:42 pm | Updated November 17, 2021 01:08 am IST

Four athletes, including Olympic silver medallist P.V. Sindhu, gymnast Dipa Karmakar, shooter Jitu Rai and Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award from President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi on Monday.

Fifteen sportspersons were honoured with the Arjuna Award and three with the Dhyan Chand Award.

Besides, the Punjabi University of Patiala was awarded the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy 2015-16.

Apart from a medal and a citation, a Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awardee will receive a cash prize of Rs.7.5 lakh. The Arjuna, Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand awardees will receive statuettes, certificates and cash prize of Rs.5 lakh each, said a press release from the Sports Ministry.

The Selection Committee for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and the Arjuna Award was headed by Justice S.K. Agarwal, retired Delhi High Court Judge. The Selection Committee for the Dronacharya Award and the Dhyan Chand Award was headed by M.C. Mary Kom.

PTI adds:

For the first time in the history of national sports awards, four athletes were chosen for the Khel Ratna honour, owing to the three girls’ superlative show at the Rio Olympics.

In 2009, three athletes — boxers Vijender Singh and M C Mary Kom and wrestler Sushil Kumar — were given this award together.

Long distance runner Lalita Babar, who finished a creditable 10th in the 3000m steeplechase in the Rio Games, boxer Shiva Thapa, the only third Indian to win a World Championships medal last year, and hockey players VR Raghunath and Rani Rampal were among those who received the Arjuna award.

Cricketer Ajinkya Rahane, who was also selected for the Arjuna award, missed out on the ceremony as he is in the United States with the Indian team for a Twenty20 series against the West Indies.

Teen Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, the first Indian athlete to become a world champion at any level with a gold medal at the U-20 World Championship, was also among the Arjuna winners this year.

Goalkeeper Subrata Paul was the lone footballer in the list of Arjuna awardees, which also included shooter Apurvi Chandela and wrestler Vinesh Phogat.

Vinesh received the award seated on wheelchair. She is recovering from a knee injury sustained in her second-round bout during the Rio Olympics.

Full list of awardees:

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2016

Name of awardee

Discipline

P.V. Sindhu

Badminton

Sakshi Malik

Wrestling

Dipa Karmakar

Gymnastics

Jitu Rai

Shooting

Dronacharya Award 2016

Name of awardee

Discipline

Nagapuri Ramesh

Athletics

Sagar Mal Dhayal

Boxing

Raj Kumar Sharma

Cricket

Bishweshwar Nandi

Gymnastics

S. Pradeep Kumar

Swimming (lifetime)

Mahabir Singh

Wrestling (lifetime)

Arjuna Award 2016

Name of awardee

Discipline

Rajat Chauhan

Archery

Lalita Babar

Athletics

Sourav Kothari

Billiards and Snooker

Shiva Thapa

Boxing

Ajinkya Rahane

Cricket

Rani

Hockey

Subrata Paul

Football

V R Raghunath

Hockey

Gurpreet Singh

Shooting

Apurvi Chandela

Shooting

Soumyajit Ghosh

Table Tennis

Vinesh Poghat

Wrestling

Amit Kumar

Wrestling

Sandeep Singh Mann

Para-Athletics

Virender Singh

Wrestling (deaf)

Dhyan Chand Award 2015

Name of Awardee

Discipline

Satti Geetha

Athletics

Sylvanus Dung Dung

Hockey

Rajendra Pralhad Shelke

Rowing

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