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National Sports Awards 2020: President Ram Nath Kovind virtually honours 65 athletes; Rohit Sharma, Ishant Sharma miss ceremony
For the first time in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, the National Sports Awards was conducted virtually on Saturday, with a total of 65 awardees attending this year`s ceremony from various locations across the country.
For the first time in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, the National Sports Awards was conducted virtually on Saturday, with a total of 65 awardees attending this year's ceremony from various locations across the country.
The award winners from nine different Sports Authority of India-designated locations were connected with the Indian President online from the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
A total of 74 sportspersons were chosen for the national awards, including five for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, eight for Dronacharya Award in Life- Time Category, five Dronacharya Award in regular category, a whopping 27 Arjuna awardees, 15 Dhyan Chand awardees.
Indian opener Rohit Sharma, who has been honoured with this year's Khel Ratna award, and Arjuna awardee Ishant Sharma missed the ceremony as they are currently in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Meanwhile, Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat (Khel Ratna) and shuttler Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (Arjuna) were forced to pull out of the award ceremony after being diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.
Table tennis star Manika Batra, Paralympic gold-medallist Mariyappan Thangavelu and women's hockey skipper Rani Rampal--who are the other thee Khel Ratna awardees--attended the event.
Meanwhile, Indian shooter Manu Bhaker, star sprinter Dutee Chand, woman cricketer Deepti Sharma, golfer Aditi Ashok,archer Atanu Das and men's hockey team striker Akashdeep Singh were among the top Arjuna awardees this year.
Punjab University was conferred with the prestigious Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy during the virtual ceremony.
Col. Sarfraz Singh, Taka Tamut, Late Maagan Bissa, Asnita Devi, Keval Hiren Kakka and Satendra Singh were honoured with the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award.
President Ram Nath Kovind congratulated all the athletes, coaches and sports associations for their efforts in taking the country's sports forward besides also pointing out that three out of the five Khel Ratna award winners are female athletes.
The President also stated that the deadly virus has disrupted all the sporting activities across the country and also forced the postponement of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The full list of National Sports Awards 2020 winners is as follows:
RAJIV GANDHI KHEL RATNA AWARD
| Name of the Sportsperson | Discipline |
|---|---|
| Rohit Sharma | Cricket |
| Mariyappan T. | Para Athletics |
| Manika Batra | Table Tennis |
| Vinesh | Wrestling |
| Rani | Hockey |
DRONACHARYA AWARD
Life- Time Category
| Name of coach | Discipline |
|---|---|
| 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 |
Regular Category
| Name of the coach | Discipline |
|---|---|
| Jude Felix Sebastian | Hockey |
| Yogesh Malviya | Mallakhamb |
| Jaspal Rana | Shooting |
| Kuldeep Kumar Handoo | Wushu |
| Gaurav Khanna | Para Badminton |
ARJUNA AWARD
| Name | Discipline |
|---|---|
| Atanu Das | Archery |
| Dutee Chand | Athletics |
| Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy | Badminton |
| Chirag Chandrasekhar Shetty | Badminton |
| Vishesh Bhriguvanshi | Basketball |
| Subedar 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 Suhas 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 |
DHYAN CHAND AWARD
| Name of the Sportsperson | Discipline |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Shri Sachin Nag | Swimming |
| Nandan P Bal | Tennis |
| Netarpal Hooda | Wrestling |
Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is given for the spectacular and outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of four years preceding the award; Arjuna Award is given for consistent outstanding performance for four years; Dronacharya Award goes to the coaches for producing medal winners at prestigious international sports events; Dhyan Chand Award is for life time contribution to sports development and Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar is given to the corporate entities (both in private and public sector) and individuals who have played a visible role in the area of sports promotion and development.
Every year on August 29, India celebrates its National Sports Day. The day is celebrated to honour the legendary hockey player Major Dhyan Chand. Rijiju will offer tributes to Major Dhyan Chand at Dhyan Chand Stadium in New Delhi in the morning before the awards function.