Neeraj Chopra, Lovlina, Paralympics gold medallists, Mithali Raj among 11 recommended for Khel Ratna

The National Sports Awards Committee has proposed the names of 11 players, including javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who won the gold medal for India in the Tokyo Olympics, for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award for the year 2021. These include five para-athletes. Last year, 5 players were selected for the Khel Ratna Award. After the 2016 Rio Olympics, 4 players got this award. In this sense, the highest number of players have been selected this year for Khel Ratna.
 
Apart from Neeraj, the names of Avani Ravi Dahiya (wrestling), PR Sreejesh (hockey), Lovlina Borgohain (boxing), Sunil Chhetri (football), Mithali Raj (cricket), Pramod Bhagat (para-badminton), Sumit Antil (para-badminton),  Lekhra (para shooting), Krishna Nagar (para-badminton) and M Narwal (para shooting) are also present in the list. The committee has proposed the names of 35 players for the Arjuna Award. Cricketer Shikhar Dhawan's name is also included in these 35 players.

Also read: T20 World Cup 2021: If India goes head to head against Pakistan, it will be the FINALS

 
The announcement was delayed this year
The sports awards ceremony used to be held on 29 August every year, but this year it has been delayed because the government also wanted to include the performance of the players in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in the selection of players. The Paralympic Games were held in Tokyo from 24 August to 5 September this year.
 
Award's name changed recently
Khel Ratna is the highest sports award in the country. Earlier it was named after former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi. The Modi government recently changed its name to Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.
 
Viswanathan Anand became the first Khel Ratna
The Khel Ratna Award was started from 1991-92. Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand was given the first Khel Ratna Award. As of 2020, 43 players have been awarded this award.