New Delhi: Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna – the India’s highest sporting award – will be conferred upon four athletes named as Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu, bronze medalist Sakshi Malik, gymnast Dipa Karmakar and ace shooter Jitu Rai.
Indian shuttler P V Sindhu created history by becoming the first female athlete from India to win a silver in the Rio Olympics. The wrestler Sakshi Malik bagged a bronze medal in the 58 kg free style female wrestling in Rio Olympic.
Gymnast Dipa Karmakar – first female gymnast of India to qualify for Olympics, went on to miss a bronze by 0.15 points but her clean finish in the high-risk Produnova vault won the hearts of the nation.
In the past two years, Ace shooter Jitu Rai bagged over half a dozen medals, including gold medal at Asiad and Commonwealth Games and a silver in World Championships, which booked his ticket to Rio Olympic Games 2016.
This year’s Dronacharya Award has been conferred upon six coaches, the most notable among being Dipa’s coach Bishweshwar Nandi and India Test team captain Virat Kohli’s mentor Raj Kumar Sharma.
The Arjuna Award is given for consistent performance over four years, while the Dronacharya Award is given to coaches for producing medal winners at prestigious international sports events and the Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime contribution to sports development.
The Khel Ratna Award is given for spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of four years. The Khel Ratna Awardee will receive a cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh.
Arjuna, Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand Awardees will receive statuettes, certificates and cash prize of Rs 5 lakh each.
The selection committee for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Awards was headed by Justice SK Agarwal, Retired Delhi High Court Judge.
The selection committee for Dronacharya Awards and Dhyan Chand Awards was headed by MC Mary Kom, while selection panel for Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar was headed by Rajiv Yadav, Secretary (Sports).
The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at a specially organised function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on 29th August, 2016.
Awards:
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ranta 2016: PV Sindhu (badminton), Sakshi Malik (wrestling), Jitu Rai (shooting), and Dipa Karmakar (gymnastics).
Dronacharya Awards 2016: Mahabir Singh (wrestling, lifetime), S Pradeep kumar(swimming, lifetime), Bishweshwar Nandi (gymnastics), Raj kumar Sharma (cricket), Sagar Mal Dhayal (boxing) and Nagapuri Ramesh (athletics).
Arjuna Awards 2016: Virender Singh (wrestling, deaf), Sandeep Singh Mann (para-athletics), Amit Kumar (wrestling), Vinesh (wrestling), Soumyajit Ghosh (table tennis), Apurvi Chandela (shooting), Gurpreet Singh (shooting), Rani (hockey), VR Raghunath (hockey), Ajinkya Rahane (cricket), Subrata Paul (football), Sourav Kothari (billiards and snooker), Shiva Thapa (boxing), Lalita Babar (athletics), and Rajat Chauhan (archery).
Dhyan Chand Award: Rajendra Pralhad Shelke (rowing), Sylvanus Dung Dung (hockey), Satti Geetha (athletics).
Rashtriya Khel Protsahana Purushkar 2016: Category Entity recommended for Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar, 2016:
1. Sports for Development: Subroto Mukherjee Sports Education Societ.
2. Employment to sports persons and other welfare measures: Reserve Bank of India.
3. Encouragement to sports through corporate social responsibility: India Infrastructure Finance Corporate Limited.
4. Identification and Nurturing of Budding and Young Talent: Hockey Citizen Group, Dadar Parsee Zorostrian cricket club, Usha School of Athletics, STAIRS.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy 2015-16: Punjabi University, Patiala.
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