- The Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs announced the Khel Ratna award to 12 sportspeople including a few Olympic winners.
- These sportspeople truly represent the vast variety of talent India has, including in para-sports competition, in which the Indian contingent delivered a historic performance in the 2021 Paralympic.
- the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award to these 12 people will inspire another generation and make India a sports powerhouse.
The Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs announced the Khel Ratna award (recently named Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award after legendary hockey player) to 12 sportspeople including a few Olympic winners.
The 12 players who bagged the prestigious national award are as follows:
Neeraj Chopra (Athletics), Ravi Kumar (Wrestling), Lovlina Borgohain (Boxing), PR Sreejesh (Hockey), Avani Lekhara (Para Shooting), Sumit Antil (Para-Athletics), Pramod Bhagat (Para Badminton), Krishna Nagar (Para Badminton), Manish Narwal (Para Shooting), Mithali Raj (Cricket), Sunil Chhetri (Football), and Manpreet Singh (Hockey).
These sportspeople truly represent the vast variety of talent India has, including in para-sports competition, in which the Indian contingent delivered a historic performance in the 2021 Paralympic.
Some names like PR Sreejesh, Neeraj Chopra, Mithali Raj, Sunil Chhetri deserve special mention given the fact they redefined the role of India in the international arena in their respective games.
Ever since the Indian men’s hockey team won a bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 to break the 41-year jinx, PR Sreejesh, the goalkeeper of the men’s hockey team, has become the talk of the town and is assumed to be the biggest contender for the first Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.
Sreejesh started his journey, back in early 2000, when he used to watch the senior Indian players go through their paces. He debuted with the Junior national team for a match against Australia in 2004 and quickly made it to the senior national team in 2006, at the South Asian Games. He was awarded the ‘Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament’, following India’s victory at the 2008 Junior Asia Cup. Having been a part of the Indian team for six years, he bagged his second ‘Best Goalkeeper of the Tournament’ award.
For his immense contribution in the field of sports, the Government of India awarded Sreejesh the fourth highest civilian award Padma Shri in 2020.
Similarly, Neeraj Chopra has become an inspiration to the next generation of Indian athletes. The second throw of 87.58m in the finals stunned the athletics world as it ended India’s wait for the elusive track and field medal in the Olympics. Chopra won the country’s seventh medal and first gold in this Olympics. He has now joined the ranks of shooter Abhinav Bindra (2008 Beijing Games) as India’s individual gold winner in the showpiece. The 23-year-old, who belongs to the Ror community of Haryana, is the son of a farmer Satish Kumar and his wife Saroj Devi. The young generation from the little-known community now has its very own idol to look up to.
Mithali Raj has taken women’s Cricket in India to new heights and serves as an inspiration in a nation where female sports is still in a dismal state. She has shown that Indian females can break all the odds, and reach to the top and the people of the country would be ready to celebrate their success.
Read more: The effect of Neeraj Chopra’s gold on Indian Sports will be huge
Thus, the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award to these 12 people will inspire another generation and make India a sports powerhouse.