Five sportspersons will be honoured with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna this year. This is the first time in the history of National Sports Awards that five athletes have been recommended for the top sporting accolade. In 2016, four athletes were collectively given this award.

Also, 27 will be conferred with the Arjuna award this year. 

How were the awards finalised?

A large number of applications were received for Sports Awards this year, which were considered by the selection committee headed by Justice (Retd.) Mukundakam Sharma and other members comprising eminent sportspersons, persons having experience in sports journalism and sports administration, etc. Based on the recommendations of the committee and after due scrutiny, the government has decided to confer awards under various categories.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

It was launched in 1991-92. A medallion along with a cash award of Rs 7.5 lakh is given to sportsperson for his/her spectacular and most outstanding performance over a period of four years immediately preceding the year during which the award is to be given.

This year’s winners:

Rohit Sharma - Cricket

Mariyappan Thangavelu - Para Athletics

Manika Batra - Table Tennis

Vinesh Phogat - Wrestling

Rani Rampal - Hockey

Rohit Sharma will be the fourth cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli to be conferred with the Khel Ratna.

Vinesh Phogat has been rewarded for her gold medals in the 2018 Commonwealth and Asian Games, besides a bronze in the 2019 Asian Wrestling Championships.

Thangavelu is being rewarded for his gold medal in the 2016 Rio Paralympics in the T42 high jump category. T42 applies to athletes with single above the knee amputations or a disability that is comparable.

Paddler Manika Batra was recommended for her remarkable performance in 2018, a year during which she won the Commonwealth Games gold medal and Asian Games bronze in women's singles.

Rani Rampal is Indian women’s hockey team captain. Before Rani, only Dhanraj Pillay (2000) and Sardar Singh (2017) won the prestigious award.

Arjuna Award

It was instituted in 1961 and is given to players who have exhibited good performance consistently for the previous four years at the international level and have shown qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and a sense of discipline. The awardees are given a statuette, a scroll of honour, ceremonial dress and award money of Rs 5 lakh. 

This year’s winners:

Atanu Das - Archery

Dutee Chand - Athletics

Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy - Badminton

Chirag Chandrasekhar Shetty - Badminton

Vishesh Bhriguvanshi - Basketball

Manish Kaushik - Boxing

Lovlina Borgohain - Boxing

Ishant Sharma - Cricket

Deepti Sharma - Cricket

Sawant Ajay Anant - Equestrian

Sandesh Jhingan - Football

Aditi Ashok - Golf

Akashdeep Singh - Hockey

Deepika Thakur - Hockey

Deepak Hooda - Kabaddi

Kale Sarika Sudhakar - Kho Kho

Dattu Baban Bhokanal - Rowing

Manu Bhaker - Shooting

Saurabh Chaudhary - Shooting

Madhurika Suhas Patkar - Table Tennis

Divij Sharan - Tennis

Shiva Keshavan - Winter Sports

Divya Kakran - Wrestling

Rahul Aware - Wrestling

Suyash Narayan Jadhav - Para Swimming

Sandeep Chaudhary - Para Athletics

Manish Narwal - Para Shooting

Dronacharya Award

It was instituted in 1985. This award honours eminent coaches who have assisted national athletes and teams in achieving outstanding results in international competitions. The awardees are given a statuette, certificate, ceremonial dress and a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh. 

This year’s winners:

Life-Time Category

Dharmendra Tiwary - Archery

Purushotham Rai - Athletics

Shiv Singh - Boxing

Romesh Pathania - Hockey

Krishan Kumar Hooda - Kabaddi

Vijay Bhalchandra Munishwar - Para Powerlifting

Naresh Kumar - Tennis

Om Parkash Dahiya - Wrestling

Regular Category

Jude Felix Sebastian - Hockey

Yogesh Malviya - Mallakhamb

Jaspal Rana - Shooting

Kuldeep Kumar Handoo - Wushu

Gaurav Khanna - Para Badminton

Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games

It was instituted in 2002. This award is given to honour those who have contributed to sports by their performance and continue to contribute to promotion of sports even after their retirement from an active sporting career. The awardees are given a statuette, a certificate, ceremonial dress and award money of Rs 5 lakh. 

This year’s winners: 

Kuldip Singh Bhullar - Athletics

Jincy Philips - Athletics

Pradeep Shrikrishna Gandhe - Badminton

Trupti Murgunde - Badminton

N. Usha - Boxing

Lakha Singh - Boxing

Sukhvinder Singh Sandhu - Football

Ajit Singh - Hockey

Manpreet Singh - Kabaddi

J. Ranjith Kumar - Para Athletics

Satyaprakash Tiwari - Para Badminton

Manjeet Singh - Rowing

Sachin Nag - Swimming (Posthumous)

Nandan P. Bal - Tennis

Netarpal Hooda - Wrestling

Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards

It is the highest national recognition for outstanding achievements in the field of adventure on land, sea and air. A cash Award of Rs 5 lakh and a certificate of honour is given to each awardee. This Award is at par with the Arjuna Award for sporting excellence. 

This year’s winners: 

Anita Devi - Land Adventure

Col. Sarfraz Singh - Land Adventure

Taka Tamut - Land Adventure

Narender Singh - Land Adventure

Keval Hiren Kakka - Land Adventure

Satendra Singh - Water Adventure

Gajanand Yadava - Air Adventure

Magan Bissa - Life Time Achievement (posthumous)

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy

With a view to promote competitive sports in colleges and universities, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy with a cash award of Rs 10 lakh is given to the University standing first in inter-university sports tournaments. 

This year’s winner:

Panjab University, Chandigarh.

Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar

With a view to recognise the contribution made to sports development by entities other than sportspersons and coaches, the government has instituted an award since 2009 entitled Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar, which has four categories.

This year’s winners are:

1) Identification and nurturing of budding and young talent - Lakshya Institute 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).

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