Names of Odisha Olympian Dutee Chand and 26 other eminent sportspersons were approved for the prestigious Arjuna Award today by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India. Chand, the fastest women of the country, became the ninth sportsperson and second athlete to join the Arjuna Awardees Club.
Arjuna Award was one of seven categories of National Sports Awards, which were announced by MYAS today. A record number of five sportspersons got the approval for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the highest sports honour of the country. They are:
cricketer Rohit Sharma, wrestler Vinesh Phogat, Paralympic gold-winner Mariyappan Thangavelu, Table Tennis player Manika Batra and women’s hockey team captain Rani Rampal.
Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of four years. Arjuna Award is given for consistent outstanding performance for four years.
Dronacharya Award goes to the coaches for producing medal winners at prestigious international sports events. Dhyan Chand Award is for life-time contribution to sports development.
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar is given to the corporate entities (both in private and public sector) and individuals who have played a visible role in the area of sports promotion and development. Overall top performing university in inter-university tournaments is given Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy.
In addition to these Sports Awards, the Ministry also recognises the spirit of adventure among the people of the country by bestowing the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award.
A large number of applications were received for National Sports Awards this year, which were considered by the Selection Committee, headed by Justice (Retd) Mukundakam Sharma (former Judge of Supreme Court of India) and other members comprising of eminent sportspersons, persons having experience in sports journalism and sports administration, etc.
The National Sports Awards this year will be conferred by the President of India for the first time through virtual mode at a specially organized function from Rashtrapati Bhawan on 29 August, 2020.
RAJIV GANDHI KHEL RATNA AWARD: 1. Rohit Sharma (Cricket), 2. Mariyappan T (Para Athletics), 3. Manika Batra (Table Tennis), 4. Vinesh Phogat (Wrestling), 5. Rani Rampal (Hockey).
DRONACHARYA AWARD:
Life-Time Category: 1. Dharmendra Tiwary (Archery), 2. Purushotham Rai (Athletics), 3. Shiv Singh (Boxing), 4. Romesh Pathania (Hockey), 5. Krishan Kumar Hooda (Kabaddi), 6. Vijay Bhalchandra Mun(ishwar (Para Powerlifting), 7. Naresh Kumar (Tennis), 8. Om Parkash Dahiya (Wrestling).
Regular Category: 1. Jude Felix Sebastian (Hockey), 2. Yogesh Malviya (Mallakhamb), 3. Jaspal Rana (Shooting), 4. Kuldeep Kumar Handoo (Wushu), 5. Gaurav Khanna (Para Badminton).
ARJUNA AWARD: 1. Atanu Das (Archery), 2. Dutee Chand (Athletics), 3. Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy (Badminton), 4. Chirag Chandrasekhar Shetty (Badminton), 5. Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (Basketball), 6. Subedar Manish Kaushik (Boxing), 7. Lovlina Borgohain (Boxing), 8. Ishant Sharma (Cricket), 9. Deepti Sharma (Cricket), 10. Sawant Ajay Anant (Equestrian), 11. Sandesh Jhingan (Football), 12. Aditi Ashok (Golf), 13. Akashdeep Singh (Hockey), 14. Deepika (Hockey), 15. Deepak (Kabaddi), 16. Kale Sarika Sudhakar (Kho-Kho), 17. Dattu Baban Bhokanal (Rowing), 18. Manu Bhaker (Shooting), 19. Saurabh Chaudhary (Shooting), 20. Madhurika Suhas Patkar (Table Tennis), 21. Divij Sharan (Tennis), 22. Shiva Keshavan (Winter Sports), 23. Divya Kakran (Wrestling), 24. Rahul Aware (Wrestling), 25. Suyash Narayan Jadhav (Para Swimming), 26. Sandeep (Para Athletics), 27. Manish Narwal (Para Shooting).
DHYAN CHAND AWARD: 1. Kuldip Singh Bhullar (Athletics), 2. Jincy Philips (Athletics), 3. Pradeep Shrikrishna Gandhe (Badminton), 4. Trupti Murgunde (Badminton), 5. N Usha (Boxing), 6. Lakha Singh (Boxing), 7. Sukhvinder Singh Sandhu (Football), 8. Ajit Singh (Hockey), 9. Manpreet Singh (Kabaddi), 10. J Ranjith Kumar (Para Athletics), 11. Satyaprakash Tiwari (Para Badminton), 12. Manjeet Singh (Rowing), 13. Late Sachin Nag (Swimming), 14. Nandan P Bal (Tennis), 15. Netarpal Hooda (Wrestling).
TENZING NORGAY NATIONAL ADVENTURE AWARDS 2019: 1. Anita Devi (Land Adventure), 2. 2. Col Sarfraz Singh (Land Adventure), 3. Taka Tamut (Land Adventure), 4. Narender Singh (Land Adventure), 5. Keval Hiren Kakka (Land Adventure), 6. Satendra Singh (Water Adventure), 7. Gajanand Yadava (Air Adventure), 8. Late Magan Bissa (Life-Time Achievement).
MAULANA ABUL KALAM AZAD (MAKA) TROPHY: 1. Panjab University, Chandigarh.
RASHTRIYA KHEL PROTSAHAN PURUSKAR:
1. Identification and Nurturing of Budding and Young Talent: 1. Lakshya Institute, 2. Army Sports Institute.
2. Encouragement to sports through Corporate Social Responsibility: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Ltd.
3. Employment of sportspersons and sports welfare measures: Air Force Sports Control Board.
4. Sports for Development: International Institute of Sports Management (IISM).
ARJUNA AWARDEES OF ODISHA:
1980: Minati Mohapatra, Puri (Cycling)
1982: Bijay Kumar Satpathy, Ganjam (Weightlifting)
1998: Rachita Panda-Mistry, Khurda (Athletics)
2002: Dilip Tirkey, Sundargarh (Hockey)
2007: Jyoti Sunita Kullu, Sundargarh (Hockey)
2009: Ignace Tirkey, Sundargarh (Hockey)
2010: K Ravi Kumar, Ganjam (Weightlifting)
2019: Pramod Bhagat, Bargarh (Para-Badminton)
2020: Dutee Chand, Jajpur (Athletics)