Neeraj Chopra, Mithali Raj, Avani Lekhara Recommended for Khel Ratna Award

To cherish and acknowledge the accomplishments of sports personalities, Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra, batter Mithali Raj, Paralympian Avani Lekhara and more are recommended for the Khel Ratna Award. For the uninitiated the Khel Ratna Award is awarded to high-performing and inspiring sports personalities every year. The awards were titled Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award till 2020 till this year. Earlier this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award will be changed to Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.

Background

Amid the controversies that have surfaced in the wake of India VS Pakistan T20 match, the Indian government is all set to announce the most prestigious sports award. The now titled Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is given to sports personalities for their achievements at the Interational level. The award is bestowed upon sportspersons by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

The highest sporting honour was first bestowed in the year 1991-92 to Grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand.  Since then, sportspersons not limited to Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Mary Kom, Saina Nehwal, Mirabai Chanu have received the award.

The Facts of the Matter

On October 27 it was reported that the national sports awards committee have short listed 11 atheletes for its recommendation for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. Gold medalist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, pugilist Lovlina Borgohain, batter Mithali Raj are among the 11 persons selected by the national sports award committee.

This year, the announcement of the highest sporting honor was delayed in order to take into consider champions that emerged in the Tokyo Paralympics. The list of 11 atheletes includes 4 paralmypians who brought the country glory and a shiny medal.

List of Athletes Recommended for the Khel Ratna Award

1) Neeraj Chopra

Tokyo Olympian Neeraj Chopra brought the country its share of pride after clinching the first ever gold medal in javelin throwing. Chopra also brought India its second ever gold medal in athletics.

2) Ravi Dahiya

Freestyle wrestler is a two-time Asian boxing champion. The freestyle wrestler gave India a reason to erupt with joy after clinching a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 in the 57 kg category.

3) PR Sreejesh

PR Sreejesh became a defensive wall for the Indian men’s hockey team at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. While India scored many goals, it’s the goals that PR Sreejesh saved as the goal keeper that meant more. Thanks to his efforts, India won the bronze medal at the Olympics after 41 years in hockey.

4) Lovlina Borgohain

Born and brought up in the Golaghat district of Assam, Lovlina was responsible for bringing his hometown to the world map. The 24-year-old puglist won the bronze medal at the boxing event at the Tokyo Olympics and has already received an Arjuna Award.

5) Sunil Chhetri

What do Indian footballer Sunil Chhetri and world-famous Lionel Messi have in common? They both are the joint-highest international goal scorers in the world. The 37-year-old footballer trails only behind Christiano Ronaldo and is the highest goal scorer in India.

6) Mithali Raj

Mithali has been responsible for raising awareness for women’s cricket in India. She is the current Test and ODI captain of the women’s team. The all-rounder is also the highest run-scorer in the women’s cricket.

7) Pramod Bhagat

Mr. Bhagat is a para-badminton player from the small town of Vaishali. He clinched a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in men’s singles category. He’s also currently the number one badminton player in para-badminton.

8) Sumit Antil

A Paralympic javelin throwing counterpart of Neeraj Chopra, Antil clinched a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. He also holds the world record for javelin throw.

9) Avani Lekhara

19-year-old Avani is the youngest of the lot but is the most promising. She won the gold medal at the 10m air rifle standing and even the bronze medal in 50m rifle at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020.

10) Krishna Nagar

22-year-old Krishna Nagar is currently at the second position in the para-badminton list. He brought glory to India by clinching gold medal at the men’s singles SH6 at the 2020 Paralympics.

11) M. Narwal

Arjun Award winner M. Narwal was another gold medalist from the Tokyo Paralympics 2020. He won his gold medal in shooting tournament in Mixed P4 – 50m category.

 

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