National Sports Awards 2024: Manu, Gukesh among four to receive Khel Ratna from President Murmu
National Sports Awards 2024: Manu, Gukesh among four to receive Khel Ratna from President Murmu
Double Olympic medallist shooter Manu Bhaker, World chess champion D. Gukesh, two-time Olympic medallist and men’s hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh, and Paralympic gold medal-winning high jumper Praveen Kumar were presented with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award by President Droupadi Murmu at the National Sports Awards ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday.
Manu made history by becoming independent India’s first athlete to win two medals in a single Olympic edition, clinching bronze in both the 10m air pistol individual event and the 10m air pistol mixed team event in August last year.
Harmanpreet was a key member of the Indian men’s hockey team that secured bronze medals at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics. Praveen, who won a silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics, upgraded his achievement to gold in Paris last year.
Gukesh made headlines by becoming the youngest-ever World chess champion in December 2024, defeating China’s Ding Liren. He is only the second Indian, after Viswanathan Anand, to achieve this feat. Gukesh also played a pivotal role in helping India secure a gold medal in the men’s team event at the Chess Olympiad in September.
Thirty-two athletes were honoured with the Arjuna Award, 17 of whom were para-athletes.
Among the Arjuna awardees were Paris Olympics bronze medallists — wrestler Aman Sehrawat, and shooters Swapnil Kusale and Sarabjot Singh — alongside members of the men’s hockey team: Jarmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Sanjay, and Abhishek.
India’s para-athletes had an outstanding performance at the Paralympic Games, returning with 29 medals, including seven gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze.
India’s first Paralympic gold medallist, Murlikant Petkar, was also recognised with the Arjuna Award (Lifetime Achievement).
Khel Ratna comes with a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh, while the Arjuna and Dronacharya awards include a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh.
The honours were determined using a points-based system, with the highest weightage given to performances at the Olympics and World Championships.
-With inputs from PTI
