India’s sporting heroes have been bestowed the annual nationwide awards in an unparalleled on-line ceremony amid the COVID-19 pandemic throughout which athletes logged in from a number of cities to be honoured by President Ram Nath Kovind. This yr a whopping 74 have been picked for the nationwide honours, together with an unprecedented 5 Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratnas and 27 Arjuna awardees. Of those, 60 attended the digital ceremony performed throughout 11 Sports activities Authority of India (SAI) centres in numerous cities.
Cricketers Rohit Sharma (Khel Ratna) and Ishant Sharma (Arjuna) missed the ceremony resulting from their IPL commitments within the UAE, whereas star wrestler Vinesh Phogat (Khel Ratna) and badminton participant Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (Arjuna) needed to pull out of the ceremony after testing optimistic for the dreaded virus.
The opposite three Khel Ratna winners — TT participant Manika Batra, Paralympic gold-medallist Mariyappan Thangavelu and girls’s hockey captain Rani Rampal — attended the ceremony.
Whereas Batra logged in from Pune, Thangavelu and Rampal joined from the Bengaluru SAI centre.
President Kovind applauded as names of the attending awardees have been referred to as out and their achievements cited as is the conference. Lacking, nonetheless, was the grandeur of the Rashtrapati Bhavan’s Durbar Corridor.
“That is the primary awards ceremony in COVID occasions throughout which the President has participated,” Sports activities Minister Kiren Rijiju mentioned in the beginning of the ceremony.
The athletes can stay up for enhanced money awards this yr. The prize cash for the Khel Ratna was elevated to Rs 25 lakh from the earlier quantity of Rs 7.5 lakh this morning.
Arjuna awardees, 22 of who attended the ceremony, got Rs 15 lakh, which is Rs 10 lakh greater than the earlier sum.
The Dhronacharya (Lifetime) awardees, who have been earlier given Rs 5 lakh, have been awarded Rs 15 lakh, whereas the common Dhronacharya got here with Rs 10 lakh as a substitute of Rs 5 lakh per awardee. Dhyanchand Awardees got Rs 10 lakh as a substitute of Rs 5 lakh.
The strict COVID-19 protocol meant that for the primary time in 44 years’ historical past of the awards, the winners, visitors and dignitaries didn’t collect on the Durbar Corridor to be recognised for his or her excellence.
The highest Arjuna awardees this yr included star sprinter Dutee Chand, lady cricketer Deepti Sharma, golfer Aditi Ashok and males’s hockey workforce striker Akashdeep Singh.
The Dronacharya award within the life-time class was bestowed on eight coaches, the distinguished amongst them being archery coach Dharmendra Tiwary, Naresh Kumar (tennis), Shiv Singh (boxing) and Romesh Pathania (hockey).
In common class, there have been 5 recipients of the Dronacharya, together with hockey coach Jude Felix and taking pictures coach Jaspal Rana amongst others. In a tragic flip of occasions of Friday, a Dronacharya (Lifetime) winner, athletics coach Purushottam Rai, died in Bengaluru after struggling a coronary heart assault.
The Dhyan Chand award this yr was given to 15 people, together with Sukhvinder Singh Sandhu (soccer), Trupti Murgunde (badminton) and Nandan Bal (tennis) amongst others. Golfer Aditi Ashok and former footballer Sukhwinder Singh Sandhu didn’t attend the award perform as they’re in a foreign country.
All well being and security protocols, conserving with the rules of the Well being Ministry, have been adopted on the venues the place dignitaries and awardees have been current.
In truth, awardees have been seen clad in PPE kits as they made their method to the ceremony venues. As per the route of the Sports activities Ministry, each award winner needed to endure a COVID-19 check earlier than reporting to the venue.
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award: Rohit Sharma (Cricket), Mariyappan Thangavelu (Para Athletics), Manika Batra (Desk 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 (Soccer), Aditi Ashok (Golf), Akashdeep Singh (Hockey), Deepika (Hockey), Deepak (Kabaddi), Kale Sarika Sudhakar (Kho Kho), Dattu Baban Bhokanal (Rowing), Manu Bhaker (Capturing), Saurabh Chaudhary (Capturing), Madhurika Patkar (Desk Tennis), Divij Sharan (Tennis), Shiva Keshavan (Winter Sports activities), Divya Kakran (Wrestling), Rahul Conscious (Wrestling), Suyash Narayan Jadhav (Para Swimming), Sandeep (Para Athletics), Manish Narwal (Para Capturing).
Dronacharya Award: (Life- Time Class): 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).
Dronacharya Award (Common Class): Jude Felix (Hockey), Yogesh Malviya (Mallakhamb), Jaspal Rana (Capturing), 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 (Soccer), 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 Nationwide Journey Awards: Anita Devi (Land Journey), Col Sarfraz Singh (Land Journey), Taka Tamut (Land Journey), Narender Singh (Land Journey), Keval Hiren Kakka (Land Journey), Satendra Singh (Water Journey), Gajanand Yadava (Air Journey), Late Magan Bissa (Life Time Achievement).
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy: Panjab College, Chandigarh
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar:
Identification and Nurturing of Budding and Younger Expertise: Lakshya Institute, Military Sports activities Institute.
Encouragement to sports activities by way of Company Social Accountability: Oil and Pure Gasoline Company (ONGC) Ltd.
Promoted
Employment of sportspersons and sports activities welfare measures: Air Drive Sports activities Management Board.
Sports activities for Improvement: Worldwide Institute of Sports activities Administration
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