New Delhi, Aug 22: Bowing to pressure from various quarters, the government today deviated from its existing policy and selected two sportpersons -- athlete K M Beenamol and shooter Anjali Bhagwat -- for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, the country's highest sporting honour. The government also named 21 sportspersons for the Arjuna award 2002, accepting in toto the original recommendations of the Arjuna awards committee, which had triggered off a controversy by submitting a list with recommendations in excess of the number stipulated in guidelines.
Five sportspersons have been named for the Dhyan Chand award for lifetime achievement while an equal number were selected for the Dronacharya award. Bureau Report