A day after the Olympic Games came to an end in Rio de Janerio, the government on Monday conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2016 to Olympic medallists P.V. Sindhu and Sakshi Malik; ace gymnast Dipa Karmakar, who lost a medal by a whisker, and shooter Jitu Rai. This is for the first time the nation's highest sporting award has been conferred on four athletes.
Dipa Karmakar's coach, Bishweshwar Nandi, has been selected for the Dronacharya Award, alongwith Nagapuri Ramesh (athletics), Sagar Mal Dhayal (boxing), Raj Kumar Sharma (cricket), S. Pradeep Kumar (swimming) and Mahabir Singh (wrestling).
Fifteen sportspersons will be honoured with the Arjuna Award and three with the Dhyan Chand Award.
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Besides, the Punjabi University of Patiala will be 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.
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The awards will be distributed by President Pranab Mukherjee on August 29.
Our Special Correspondent adds:
The Ministry also selected 15 athletes for the Arjuna Award. The ministry had earlier cleared Rai and Dipa’s names for the award with the caveat that any medallist at Rio would automatically be included in the list.
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 |