Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Monday physically handed over trophies to the winners of National Sports Awards 2020 after the award ceremony was held virtually last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
All the winners of the National Sports Awards 2020 had already received their cash awards but were not able to collect their trophies and citation because of the pandemic.
On August 29 last, the Sports Ministry had conferred 74 National Sports Awards, including five Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (now renamed as Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna) and 27 Arjuna awards.
The notable awardees who attended Monday's ceremony at a city hotel here were women's hockey captain Rani Rampal, star wrestler Vinesh Phogat and 2016 Paralympics gold winner Thangavelu Mariyappan, who were handed the prestigious Khel Ratna.
Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist boxer Lovlina Borgohain, cricketer Ishant Sharma, sprinter Dutee Chand, archer Atanu Das and shuttlers Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Chandrasekhar Shetty were among others who collected their the Arjuna trophies.
"The National Sports Awards is a prestigious award that is won by athletes after years of dedication and hard work. Congratulations to all the awardees and the very best for their future events. The journey of the awardees doesn't end here, there is more to be achieved," Thakur said during the function.
"We must also continue to look for talented athletes, groom them and make them capable of winning medals at the international level. So I request all the athletes to take the pledge of at least grooming and training five such athletes who can win medals for India in the future."
The event was also graced by Sports Secretary Sujata Chaturvedi, Youth Affairs Secretary Usha Sharma and other top ministry and SAI officials.
List of National Sports Awardees for 2020:
Khel Ratna Award: Rohit Sharma (Cricket), Mariyappan Thangavelu (Para-Athletics), Manika Batra (Table Tennis), Vinesh Phogat (Wrestling), Rani Rampal (Hockey).
Arjuna Award: Atanu Das (Archery), Dutee Chand (Athletics), Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy (Badminton), Chirag Chandrasekhar Shetty (Badminton), Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (Basketball), Manish Kaushik (Boxing), Lovlina Borgohain (Boxing), Ishant Sharma (Cricket), Deepti Sharma (Cricket), Sawant Ajay Anant (Equestrian), Sandesh Jhingan (Football), Aditi Ashok (Golf), Akashdeep Singh (Hockey), Deepika (Hockey), Deepak (Kabaddi), Kale Sarika Sudhakar (Kho Kho), Dattu Baban Bhokanal (Rowing), Manu Bhaker (Shooting), Saurabh Chaudhary (Shooting), Madhurika Patkar (Table Tennis), Divij Sharan (Tennis), Shiva Keshavan (Winter Sports), Divya Kakran (Wrestling), Rahul Aware (Wrestling), Suyash Narayan Jadhav (Para-Swimming), Sandeep (Para-Athletics), Manish Narwal (Para Shooting).
Dronacharya Award (Life-Time Category): Dharmendra Tiwary (Archery), Purushotham Rai (Athletics), Shiv Singh (Boxing), Romesh Pathania (Hockey), Krishan Kumar Hooda (Kabaddi), Vijay Bhalchandra Munishwar (Para Powerlifting), Naresh Kumar (Tennis), Om Parkash Dahiya (Wrestling).
Dronacharya (Regular Category): Jude Felix (Hockey), Yogesh Malviya (Mallakhamb), Jaspal Rana (Shooting), Kuldeep Kumar Handoo (Wushu), Gaurav Khanna (Para Badminton).
Dhyan Chand Award: Kuldip Singh Bhullar (Athletics), Jincy Philips (Athletics), Pradeep Shrikrishna Gandhe (Badminton), Trupti Murgunde (Badminton), N Usha(Boxing), Lakha Singh (Boxing), Sukhvinder Singh Sandhu (Football), Ajit Singh (Hockey), Manpreet Singh (Kabaddi), J Ranjith Kumar (Para-Athletics), Satyaprakash Tiwari (Para Badminton), Manjeet Singh (Rowing), Late Shri Sachin Nag (Swimming), Nandan Bal (Tennis), Netarpal Hooda (Wrestling).
Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards: Anita Devi (Land Adventure), Col Sarfraz Singh (Land Adventure), Taka Tamut (Land Adventure), Keval Hiren Kakka (Land Adventure), Satendra Singh (Water Adventure), Gajanand Yadava (Air Adventure), Late Magan Bissa (Life Time Achievement).
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy: Panjab University, Chandigarh.
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar for IISM
International Institute of Sports Management, a pioneering sports management venture set up by former India cricketer Nilesh Kulkarni, was today bestowed with the prestigious Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar by sports minister Anurag Thakur. IISM received this award for outstanding work in sports promotion and development.
On receiving the award, Kulkarni said, “It's a matter of immense pride for IISM to be recognised for its contribution to sports management. Our first-of-its-kind initiative in sports management in India is gaining popularity. This award will go a long way in making us strive to equip students with professional skills to lead meaningful careers in the sports industry. I'd like to extend gratitude to our students, alumni, parents, collaborators and associates for being a significant part of our wonderful journey.”
(With PTI inputs)
