On the occasion of National Sports Day, which is celebrated every year today on the birth anniversary of one of the greatest hockey players in history, Major Dhyan Chand, President Ram Nath Kovind presented the National Sports Day Awards to 19 sportspersons from the country at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Thursday.
Paralympic silver-medallist Deepa Malik on Thursday became the first Indian woman para-athlete to be conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the highest sporting honour in the country.
President Kovind confers the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, 2019 upon @DeepaAthlete in recognition of her outstanding achievements in Para-Athletics.
⏺️Bronze Medal (Javelin Throw) in Asian Para Games 2018
⏺️Silver Medal (Shot Put) in Paralympic Games 2016 pic.twitter.com/P32usp4L6I— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) August 29, 2019
President Kovind confers Arjuna Award 2019 upon @poonam_yadav24 for her achievements in Cricket 🏏.
🔹India’s leading wicket-taker in T20Is
🔹Member of women cricket team winning Silver medal in ICC women’s cricket world cup 2017 pic.twitter.com/rEbAzRIxVs— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) August 29, 2019
Wrestler Bajrang Punia though skipped the award ceremony in New Delhi to continue training for September’s World Championships in Russia. The Asian Games gold medallist will reportedly receive the award from Sports Minister Kiran Rijiju after returning to the country.
India cricket star Ravindra Jadeja, middle distance runner Mohammed Anas Yahiya were among the notable absentees at the award ceremony. Jadeja, who along with Poonam Yadav are the only cricketers to receive the Arjuna Award this year.
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A total of 19 athletes were nominated for the Arjuna Award.
Noted badminton coach Vimal Kumar, who had coached the likes of Pullela Gopichand and Saina Nehwal, received the Dronacharya Award from President Kovind on Thursday.
Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime achievement in sports was received by Manoj Kumar (wrestling), C Lalremsanga (archery), Arup Basak (table tennis), Nitten Kirrtane (tennis) and Manuel Fredricks (hockey) at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Full list of National Sports Day Award winners 2019
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award: Deepa Malik (Para-Athletics), Bajrang Punia (Wrestling)
Arjuna Award: Ravindra Jadeja (Cricket), Mohammed Anas (Athletics), Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (Football), Sonia Lather (Boxing), Chinglensana Singh Kangujam (Hockey), S Bhaskaran (Bodybuilding), Ajay Thakur (Kabaddi), Anjum Moudgil (Shooting), Bhamidipati Sai Praneeth (Badminton), Tajinder Pal Singh Toor (Athletics), Pramod Bhagat (Para sports-badminton), Harmeet Rajul Desai (Table tennis), Pooja Dhanda (Wrestling), Fouaad Mirza (Equestrian), Simran Singh Shergill (Polo), Poonam Yadav (Cricket), Swapna Burman (Athletics), Sundar Singh Gurjar (Para sports-athletics) and Gaurav Singh Gill (Motorsports).
Dronacharya Award: Mohinder Singh Dhillon (athletics), Sandeep Gupta (table tennis) and Vimal Kumar (badminton).
Dronacharya Award (lifetime category): Sanjay Bhardwaj (cricket), Rambir Singh Khokar (kabaddi) and Mezban Patel (hockey).
Dhyan Chand Award: Manoj Kumar (wrestling), C Lalremsanga (archery), Arup Basak (table tennis), Nitten Kirrtane (tennis) and Manuel Fredricks (hockey).