Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award
Awarded by Government of India
Type Civilian
Category Sports (Individual / Team)
Description
Description Highest sports honour in India
Instituted 1991–1992
First awarded 1991–1992
Cash award ₹750,000
First awardee(s) Viswanathan Anand
Last awardee(s) Sania Mirza
Recent awardee(s) Ronjan Sodhi
Award rank
Arjuna Award →

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna is India’s highest honour for achievement in sports and is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.[1] The words "Khel Ratna" literally mean "sports gem" in Hindi. The award is named after Rajiv Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India. It carries a medal, a scroll of honour and a substantial cash component. Up to 2004–05, the monetary award was the sum of ₹5 lakh (US$7,400). This was increased to ₹7.5 lakh (US$11,000) in 2005.[2][3][4]

The award was instituted in the year 1991–92 to address the lack of a supreme national accolade in the field of sports. Predating the Khel Ratna are the Arjuna awards that have always been given to outstanding sportspersons in each of many sporting disciplines every year. The Khel Ratna was devised to be a singular overarching honour conferred for outstanding sporting performance, whether by an individual or a team, across all sporting disciplines in a given year.

Awardees

Indicates a joint award for that year
Year Name Image Birth Sport Discipline
1991–92 Viswanathan Anand[5] b. 1969 Chess
1992–93 Geet Sethi[6]  – b. 1961 Billiards
†
1994–95 Cdr. Homi D. Motivala  – b. 1958 Yachting (Team)
Lt. Cdr. P. K. Garg  – b. 1963
1995–96 Karnam Malleswari  – b. 1975 Weightlifting
1996–97 Nameirakpam Kunjarani  – b. 1968 Weightlifting
Leander Paes b. 1973 Tennis
1997–98 Sachin Tendulkar[7] b. 1973 Cricket
1998–99 Jyotirmoyee Sikdar  – b. 1969 Athletics
1999–2000 Dhanraj Pillay [8] b. 1968 Hockey
2000–01 Pullela Gopichand[9]  – b. 1973 Badminton
2001–02 Abhinav Bindra[10] b. 1982 Shooting
2002–03 Anjali Bhagwat[11] b. 1969 Shooting
K. M. Beenamol[11]  – b. 1975 Athletics
2003–04 Anju Bobby George[12]  – b. 1977 Athletics
2004–05 Lt. Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore[13] b. 1970 Shooting
2005–06 Pankaj Advani[14] b. 1985 Billiards and Snooker
2006–07 Manavjit Singh Sandhu[15]  – b. 1976 Shooting
2007–08 Mahendra Singh Dhoni[16] b. 1981 Cricket
2008–09 Mary Kom [17] b. 1983 Boxing
Vijender Singh [17] b. 1985 Boxing
Sushil Kumar [17] b. 1983 Wrestling
2009–10 Saina Nehwal[18] b. 1990 Badminton
2010–11 Gagan Narang[19]  – b. 1983 Shooting
2011–12 Vijay Kumar[20]  – b. 1985 Shooting
Yogeshwar Dutt[3][20] b. 1982 Wrestling
2012–13 Ronjan Sodhi[4][21] b. 1979 Shooting
2014-15 Sania Mirza[20][22] b. 1986 Tennis

† The award was not conferred upon any sportsperson or team in the year 1993–94. † The award was not conferred upon any sportsperson or team in the year 2013–14.

Notes

  1. ↑ "Scheme for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award" (PDF). Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-13.
  2. ↑ Youth Affairs and Sports, Ministry of (2005-08-30). "Awards – Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award". NIC. Archived from the original on 2005-11-22. Retrieved 2006-05-15.
  3. 1 2 "2012 Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Awards Announced". Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports. 19 August 2012. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
  4. 1 2 "2013 Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna Awards". Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 2014-08-04.
  5. ↑ "Chess king Viswanathan Anand to be Adda guest on Thursday". New Delhi: Indian Express. Jul 18, 2012. Retrieved Aug 21, 2012.
  6. ↑ "India has bright future in cue sports: Geet Sethi". Times of India. May 5, 2012. Retrieved Aug 21, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Khel Ratna for Sachin Tendulkar". Rediff.com. Aug 12, 1998. Retrieved Aug 21, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Dhanraj Pillay bags Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna". Rediff.com. June 30, 2000. Retrieved Aug 21, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Saina 20th Khel Ratna recipient". The Telegraph (Calcutta). Aug 6, 2010. Retrieved Aug 21, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Abhinav Bindra gets Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna". Indian Express. Aug 29, 2002. Retrieved Aug 21, 2012.
  11. 1 2 "Anjali, Beenamol to share Khel Ratna". Indian Express. Aug 23, 2003. Retrieved Aug 21, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Anju wins Khel Ratna award". New Delhi: The Tribune. Sep 15, 2004. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Khel Ratna award for Rathore". The Hindu. Aug 25, 2005. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Advani wins the Khel Ratna award". Rediff.com. Aug 23, 2006. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  15. ↑ R Ramachandran (Aug 9, 2007). "And the Khel Ratna goes to Manavjit Sandhu". New Delhi: Indian Express. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  16. ↑ "M S Dhoni gets Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna". New Delhi: India Today. Aug 4, 2008. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  17. 1 2 3 "Vijender, Sushil & Mary Kom receive Khel Ratna". New Delhi: India Today. Aug 29, 2009. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  18. ↑ "Saina Nehwal to get Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award". Economic Times. Jul 30, 2010. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  19. ↑ "Gagan Narang conferred Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award by President". Times of India. Aug 29, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2012.
  20. 1 2 3 "Vijay Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt to get Khel Ratna, Yuvraj Singh for Arjuna Award". New Delhi: NDTV. Aug 19, 2012. Retrieved Aug 19, 2012.
  21. ↑ "List of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award Winners 2013". Aug 30, 2013. Retrieved Aug 30, 2013.
  22. ↑ "2015 Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Awards Announced". 14 August 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-15.

References

External links

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