Table Tennis star Sharath Kamal bestowed with Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna
25 others sportspersons honoured with Arjuna awards
Harpal Singh Bedi / New Delhi
Table tennis star Achanta Sharath Kamal, led the star parade as President Droupadi Murmu honoured him with country’s highest sporting honour -Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna at an impressive National Sports Awards ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Wednesday.
Sharath was the only Khel Ratna award recipient, while 25 sportspersons, including shuttlers Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, woman boxer Nikhat Zareen, track and field athletes Eldhose Paul and Avinash Sable ,also hogged the spotlight as they were bestowed with the Arjuna Award.
The Khel Ratna is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performances by a sportsperson over a period of previous four years. It carries a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh, a medal and a scroll of honour. The Arjuna award carries a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh, a bronze statue and a scroll of honour.
The 40-year-old Sharath claimed four medals at the Commonwealth Games and is the second table tennis player after Manika Batra to get the Khel Ratna.
Sharath won his singles gold after 16 years, the first having won at the 2006 Melbourne CWG ,besides a yellow metal in the mixed doubles
Woman Boxer Nikhat Zareen, became the world champion in May, Lakshya Sen, bagged singles badminton gold medallist at Commonwealth Games boxer Amit Panghal won Silver Medal at World Championship in 2019.
Triple jumper Eldhose Paul became the first Indian to win a CWG gold in the men’s triple jump and the first Indian to qualify for the final of the triple jump at the World Athletics Championships, steeple chaser Avinash Sable won a silver in the men’s 3000m steeplechase and broke the Kenyan monopoly on the podium in the sport in the Birmingham CWG.
List of Arjuna Award Winners; : Seema Punia (Athletics), Eldhose Paul (Athletics), Avinash Mukund Sable (Athletics), Lakshya Sen (Badminton), HS Prannoy (Badminton), Amit (Boxing), Nikhat Zareen (Boxing), Bhakti Pradip Kulkarni (Chess), R Praggnanandhaa (Chess), Deep Grace Ekka (Hockey).
Sushila Devi (Judo), Sakshi Kumari (Kabaddi), Nayan Moni Saikia (Lawn Bowl), Sagar Kailas Ovhalkar (Mallakhamb), Elavenil Valarivan (Shooting), Omprakash Mitharval (Shooting), Sreeja Akula (Table Tennis), Vikas Thakur (Weightlifting), Anshu (Wrestling), Sarita (Wrestling), Parveen (Wushu), Manasi Girishchandra Joshi (Para Badminton), Tarun Dhillon (Para Badminton), Swapnil Sanjay Patil (Para Swimming), Berlin Anika J (Deaf Badminton).
Dronacharya Award for outstanding coaches Regular Category: Jiwanjot Singh Teja (Archery), Mohammad Ali Qamar (Boxing), Suma Siddharth Shirur (Para Shooting), Sujeet Maan (Wrestling).
Lifetime Category: Dinesh Jawahar Lad (Cricket), Bimal Prafulla Ghosh (Football), Raj Singh (Wrestling).
Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement Ashwini Akkunji C (Athletics), Dharamvir Singh (Hockey), BC Suresh (Kabaddi), Nir Bahadur Gurung (Para Athletics).
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy : Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.
Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards: Naina Dhakad (Land Adventure), Shubham Dhananjay Vanmali (Water Adventure), Group Captain Kunwar Bhawani Singh Samyal (Life Time Achievement).