New Delhi: World No.2 Saina Nehwal was officially named on Thursday as the 20th recipient of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the nation’s highest sports awards.
Saina also became the second badminton player after her coach, Pullela Gopichand, to receive Khel Ratna. Gopichand got it in 2001 after winning the All-England title.
List of awardees
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award: Saina Nehwal (Badminton).
Arjuna Awards: Joseph Abraham, Krishna Poonia (Athletics), Dinesh Kumar (Boxing), Parimarjan Negi (Chess), Jhulan Goswami (Women’s Cricket), Deepak Mondal (Football), Sandeep Singh, Jasjeet Kaur Handa (Hockey), Dinesh Kumar (Kabaddi), Sanjeev Rajput (Shooting), Rehan Poncha (Swimming), Kapil Dev KJ (Volleyball), Rajeev Tomar (Wrestling), Rajesh Chaudhary (Yachting), Jagseer Singh (Para-Olympics).
Dhyan Chand Awards: Satish Pillai (Athletics), Kuldeep Singh (Wrestling), Anita Chanu (Weightlifting).
Dronacharya Awards: AK Kutty (Athletics), Subhash B. Aggarwal (Billiards and Snooker), L. Ibomcha Singh (Boxing), Ajay Kumar Bansal (Hockey), Captain Chandrup (Wrestling).
Rashtriya Khel Protsahana Puruskar: Services Sports Control Board (SSCB), Tata Steel Limited, Khel Evam Yuva Vibhag (Government of Madhya Pradesh).
