Deepa Malik became the first Indian woman para-athlete and the oldest to be conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award
Besides the duo, 2017 World Weightlifting Champion in the 48kg category, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu and former Asian Games gold medallist tennis player Somdev Devvarman were conferred with the Padma Shri award.
Hurt at missing out on Padma Bhushan award for the second year in a row, 16-time world champion cueist Pankaj Advani says he does not know what he needs to do more to receive the coveted civilian honour.
Dipa Karmakar has been struggling with injuries ever since she underwent a surgery to treat an ACL injury in 2017.
'I was expecting that (Khel Ratna) but there were other deserving athletes. It is fine. I will continue to strive for it'
Bajrang Punia stopped using his social media handles and asked fans to keep showing him support as he gets battled ready for the Games
Disappointed at being ignored for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, top woman discus thrower Krishna Poonia on Wednesday went to see Sports Minister Jitendra Singh to express her displeasure over the issue but failed to meet him.
Last Thursday, the awards selection committee of Khel Ratna recommended para athlete and Rio Paralympics gold medallist Devendra Jhajharia for the prestigious award for 2017.
The BJP's bucket list this time includes districts such as Sultanpur, Aligarh, Firozabad, Deoband, Ghazipur, Basti and Mirzapur -- to rename a few. Virendra Singh Rawat reports.
Deepa Malik, who was on Saturday nominated for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, believes that her biggest achievement is changing perception of common public towards disability and para-athletes in general.
Bajrang Punia was nominated for the Khel Ratna by the Wrestling Federation of India following his twin gold medals at this year's Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and Jakarta Asian Games.
The World Championship is one of the ten qualifying events for the 2020 Japan Olympics.
Deepa Malik, the first Indian woman to claim a medal in the Paralympic Games, has retired from active sports, a decision she took before becoming the Paralympic Committee of India president earlier this year but revealed only on Monday. The 49-year-old, who won a silver in shot put F53 category in the 2016 Rio Paralympics, was elected PCI president in the elections held in February under the directives of Delhi High Court. PCI has been denied recognition by the sports ministry.
Seeking to steer clear of the furore that was triggered by Saina Nehwal's open displeasure at being ignored for the Padma awards, ace Indian shooter Gagan Narang said he would prefer to wait for the government to take a call on such matters.
Amidst controversies, the National Sports Awards were presented by President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Friday.
It was a celebration of woman power in sports as Olympic stars PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik and Dipa Karmakar were on Monday conferred India's highest sporting honour -- the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna -- along with shooter Jitu Rai in a gleaming awards ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi.
This year a whopping 74 winners were picked for the national honours, including an unprecedented five Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratnas and 27 Arjuna awardees.
The 36-year-old Jhajharia, who is the first Indian to win two Paralympic gold medals, was the first choice of the awards selection committee.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday, hosted the National Sports awardees, including Rio Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu and bronze winner Sakshi Malik, at his 7 Race Course Road residence in New Delhi.
The NRAI has sent the names of champion pistol shooters Saurabh Chaudhary and Abhishek Verma for the prestigious Arjuna Award, according to federation sources.
National Sports Federations and State Olympic Associations have been asked to collect feedback from the stakeholders such as athletes, coaches, support staff, central and state government ministries, match officials and sports administrators on how and when training should resume. The lockdown has been extended till May 17.
The Sports Ministry confirmed on Thursday that it will stick to the original list of winners for the Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards, thereby dashing discus thrower Krishna Poonia's hopes of being conferred the country's highest sporting honour.
Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, ace cueist Pankaj Advani believes politics should not be mixed with games and Indo-Pak sporting ties should go on.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat are in contention for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award
India cricket captain Virat Kohli and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu were on Monday recommended for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna by the awards selection committee.
To avoid any controversy on the criteria for the Arjuna award, the Sports Ministry on Friday granted 90 per cent weightage to medal winners at various international championships and sports disciplines covered in the Olympics (Summer, Winter and Paralympics), Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. The guidelines, released by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, will be applicable from 2014.
This was due to the fact that they had already won the Khel Ratna, the country's highest sporting honour.
Former recipients of the Arjuna award on Tuesday lamented that its dignity has been lowered and the government is now 'throwing' the honour away.
The committee also picked 19 sportspersons for the Arjuna Award, including the likes of cricketers Ravindra Jadeja and Poonam Yadav, track and field stars Tejinder Pal Singh Toor, Mohammed Anas and Swapna Barman.
Sania Mirza's was officially named for the coveted Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award on Friday. The Hyderabadi lady is only the second tennis player to be nominated for the country's highest sport honour.
The Congress expressed its 'whole-hearted' support to the 'Bharat bandh' called by farmer unions against the new agri-marketing laws and announced that it will hold protests that day at all district and state headquarters in solidarity with the demands of the farmers. TRS president and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said the party rank and file would actively participate in the bandh to ensure it was a success.
'Sport is cruel, as is life, which is why winning becomes sweet.'
Tennis star Leander Paes and badminton player-turned-coach Pullela Gopichand were selected for the prestigious Padma Bhushan awards while cricketer Yuvraj Singh was among the seven sportspersons chosen for this year's Padma Shri award.
MS Dhoni all set for new innings.
She embodied the Olympic spirit despite missing out on a coveted podium finish and while she was at it, Dipa Karmakar gave Indian gymnastics some unprecedented moments of glory in what can be called a watershed year for the sport.
'By the time he gets done, he'll not only be the best player of his generation, but the best ever.' 'It'll take another 100 years for someone to break his records.'
Sports Awards could to be delayed: Ministry official
The gold medal in men's javelin throw F46 category in the Rio Paralympics made Devendra Jhajharia the most successful Indian para athlete ever but he is in no mood to stop here and is eyeing for a treble in the 2020 Tokyo Games. The 35-year-old Jhajharia, a left-hand amputee, is the only Indian para athlete to have won two gold medals in the Paralympics, the earlier one being the yellow metal he won in 2004 Athens. "I am not stopping here after the Rio success. I have enough gas in my tank and I will definitely go for gold in Tokyo. I know my body and I can still train two hours in the morning and two hours in the evening rigorously everyday, just like I did in the build-up to the Rio Paralympics," Jhajharia told PTI in an interview.
At 14 she represented India for the first time and scored a scintillating goal. Since then there has been no looking back for this striker with electric speed and agility.
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