Gukesh, Manu, Harmanpreet, Praveen Honored with Khel Ratna Award
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New Delhi, Jan 2 (NationPress) World Chess champion Gukesh D and medallists from the Paris Olympics and Paralympics - Manu Bhaker (shooting), Harmanpreet Singh (hockey), and Praveen Kumar (para-athlete) are set to receive the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2024 from President of India Droupadi Murmu during a special event at Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 17, as declared by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on Thursday.
Recently, Gukesh made history by becoming the youngest-ever World Chess Champion, triumphing over China’s Ding Liren in the championship match held in Singapore.
Manu made her mark as the first Indian athlete to secure two medals in a single edition of the Games in Paris, clinching double bronze in the 10 m air pistol and 10 m air pistol mixed team events.
Meanwhile, Harmanpreet guided India to its second consecutive bronze medal in men's hockey, while Praveen achieved gold in the high jump T64 category at the Paralympics.
In addition to the Khel Ratna, the Sports Ministry has also released a list of 32 athletes nominated for the Arjuna Awards for their exceptional performances in Sports and Games 2024. This list features athletes such as Jyothi Yarraji, Annu Rani, Nitu, Saweety, Vantika Agrawal, and many more.
Former cyclist Sucha Singh and former para-swimmer Murlikant Rajaram Petkar have received Arjuna Awards (Lifetime) for their remarkable contributions to sports.
The Dronacharya Award 2024 was awarded to Subhash Rana (para-shooter), Deepali Deshpande (shooting), and Sandeep Sangwan (hockey).
S Muralidharan (badminton) and Armando Agnelo Colaco (football) were honored with the Dronacharya Award in the lifetime category.
The Physical Education Foundation of India received the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar, while Chandigarh University (overall winner), Lovely Professional University (first runner-up), and Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (second runner-up) were presented with the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy 2024.
The overall best-performing university in the Khelo India University Games is awarded the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy.
