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Sodhi gets Khel Ratna
Highlights
Robbed of some sheen due to selection controversies this year, the National Sports Awards were presented on Saturday to the country’s top athletes and coaches with shooter Ronjan Sodhi getting the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna -- the country’s highest sporting honour -- while cricketer Virat Kohli was among the Arjuna awardees.
New Delhi (PTI): Robbed of some sheen due to selection controversies this year, the National Sports Awards were presented on Saturday to the country’s top athletes and coaches with shooter Ronjan Sodhi getting the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna -- the country’s highest sporting honour -- while cricketer Virat Kohli was among the Arjuna awardees.
A loud applause greeted the ace shooter as he received the Khel Ratna award from President Pranab Mukherjee. But there was some drama just hours before the awards when long-jumper Renjith Maheshwary’s Arjuna award was held back after reports emerged of him being a dope-tainted athlete.
Sodhi became the seventh shooter to be honoured with the prestigious award. Interestingly, it is for the third consecutive year that the Khel Ratna award has gone to a shooter. Sodhi, who was the first Indian to win two back-to-back World Cup gold medals, collected the top honour which comprises a medal, citation and a cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh each.
Awardees list
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna: Ronjan Sodhi; Arjuna Award: Chekrovolu Swuro (Archery), P V Sindhu (Badminton), Kavita Chahal (Boxing), Rupesh Shah (Billiards & Snooker), Virat Kohli (Cricket), Abhijeet Gupta (Chess), Gagan Jeet Bhullar (Golf), Saba Anjum (Hockey), Rajkumari Rathore (Shooting), Joshna Chinnappa (Squash), Mouma Das (Table Tennis), Neha Rathi (Wrestling), Dharmender Dalal (Wrestling), Amit Kumar Saroha (Para Athletics); Dronacharya Award: Poornima Mahato (Archery), Mahavir Singh (Boxing), Narinder Singh Saini (Hockey), K P Thomas (Athletics), Raj Singh (Wrestling); Dhyan Chand Award: Mary D’souza Sequeira (Athletics), Syed Ali (Hockey), Anil Mann (Wrestling), Girraj Singh (Para Sports). Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar: Community Sports Identification and Nurturing of Budding Young Talent (Dr U K Mishra, NSA Allahabad), Financial Support for Sports Excellence (SSCB) Establishment and Management of Sports Academies of Excellence (PGAB) Employment of Sportspersons and sports welfare measures (PSPB)
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