The Sports Ministry announced on Thursday, January 2, that four athletes, including world chess champion D Gukesh and double Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker, will receive the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award on January 17. Manu’s name was not initially on the list of candidates for the nation’s top athletic award, the Khel Ratna.
President Droupadi Murmu will present the Khel Ratna Award to Paralympian Praveen Kumar and Indian men’s hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh on January 17 at a specially planned event at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
“Based on the recommendations of the Committee and after due scrutiny, the Government has decided to confer awards upon the following sportspersons, coaches, universities, and entities,” the ministry said in a statement.
The Sports Ministry listed the athletes who will receive the Khel Ratna, Arjuna, and Dhronacharya honors on January 17. 32 athletes will win the Arjuna Award, three coaches will earn the Dhronacharya Award, and four athletes will receive the Khel Ratna Award.
The exclusion of Manu Bhaker from the list of nominees for the esteemed Khel Ratna Award sparked a storm. Jaspal Rana, the shooter’s father and coach, expressed their displeasure with the lapse and blasted the athletic authorities for failing to nominate her following her Olympic-year accomplishments. Ram Kishan Bhaker, Manu’s father, even said he should have chosen his daughter to play cricket rather than shoot.
Manu Bhaker, however, responded to the controversy in a statement, making it clear that she was more interested in bringing more honors to the nation than in receiving prizes. She admitted that there might have been a mistake in the nomination procedure.
“Regarding the ongoing issue with my nomination for the prestigious Khel Ratna award, I would like to state that, as an athlete, my role is to play and perform for my country. I believe there has been a lapse, possibly on my part, while filing for the nomination, which is being corrected,” Manu said in a post on Instagram.
National Sports Day 2024 Award Winners: Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna
- Shri Gukesh D – Chess
- Shri Harmanpreet Singh – Hockey
- Shri Praveen Kumar – Para-Athletics
- Ms. Manu Bhakar – Shooting
Arjuna Award
- Ms. Jyothi Yarraji – Athletics
- Ms. Annu Rani – Athletics
- Ms. Nitu – Boxing
- Ms. Saweety – Boxing
- Ms. Vantika Agrawal – Chess
- Ms. Salima Tete – Hockey
- Shri Abhishek – Hockey
- Shri Sanjay – Hockey
- Shri Jarmanpreet Singh – Hockey
- Shri Sukhjeet Singh – Hockey
- Shri Rakesh Kumar – Para-Archery
- Ms. Preeti Pal – Para-Athletics
- Ms. Jeevanji Deepthi – Para-Athletics
- Shri Ajeet Singh – Para-Athletics
- Shri Sachin Sarjerao Khilari – Para-Athletics
- Shri Dharambir – Para-Athletics
- Shri Pranav Soorma – Para-Athletics
- Shri H Hokato Sema – Para-Athletics
- Ms. Simran – Para-Athletics
- Shri Navdeep – Para-Athletics
- Shri Nitesh Kumar – Para-Badminton
- Ms. Thulasimathi Murugesan – Para-Badminton
- Ms. Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan – Para-Badminton
- Ms. Manisha Ramadass – Para-Badminton
- Shri Kapil Parmar – Para-Judo
- Ms. Mona Agarwal – Para-Shooting
- Ms. Rubina Francis – Para-Shooting
- Shri Swapnil Suresh Kusale – Shooting
- Shri Sarabjot Singh – Shooting
- Shri Abhay Singh – Squash
- Shri Sajan Prakash – Swimming
- Shri Aman – Wrestling
Arjuna Awards (Lifetime)
- Shri Sucha Singh – Athletics
- Shri Murlikant Rajaram Petkar – Para-Swimming
Dronacharya Award for Outstanding Coaches
- Shri Subhash Rana – Para-Shooting
- Ms. Deepali Deshpande – Shooting
- Shri Sandeep Sangwan – Hockey
Lifetime Category
- Shri S Muralidharan – Badminton
- Shri Armando Agnelo Colaco – Football
