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Manu Bhaker, Gukesh among 4 Khel Ratnas
Record 17 para-athletes to receive Arjuna
New Delhi: Double Olympic-medallist Manu Bhaker and chess world champion D Gukesh were among four winners of the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award announced by the Sports Ministry, which also named an unprecedented 17 para-athletes in the list of 32 Arjuna awardees to honour their resounding success at the Paris Paralympics.
The other two Khel Ratna winners unveiled by the ministry on Thursday for the year 2024 were men's hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh and para-athlete Praveen Kumar. The awards will be conferred on the athletes by President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 17.
The 22-year-old Bhaker became independent India's first athlete to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics with her bronze-winning show in the 10m air pistol individual and 10m air pistol mixed team events in August.
The announcement comes a few days after reports that Bhaker had been ignored for the Khel Ratna as the award selection committee did not recommend her due to the absence of an application from her. The shooter later admitted that there may have been a lapse on her part while filing the nomination. Once the procedural issues were sorted, there was never a doubt that Bhaker would be among the awardees. In the same Paris Games, Hamranpreet led the Indian hockey team to its second consecutive bronze medal.
The 18-year-old Gukesh, on the other hand, became the youngest-ever World champion while also helping the Indian team win a historic gold in the Chess Olympiad last year. The fourth recipient, para high-jumper Praveen, was crowned the T64 champion in the Paris Paralympics. The T64 classification is for athletes who have one or both legs missing below the knee and rely on a prosthetic leg for running.
The Khel ratna awardees receive a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh along with a citation and a medallion. The Arjuna awardees are given Rs 15 lakh as cash reward, a statuette of Arjuna and a citation.
