Double Olympic medallist shooter Manu Bhaker, chess world champion D Gukesh, men's hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh, and para-athlete Praveen Kumar have been announced as this year's recipients of the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. (More Sports News)
The Khel Ratna is India's highest sporting honor. The sports ministry also announced Arjuna Awards for 32 athletes, including 17 para-athletes.
Bhaker's inclusion in the recommended list assures her as a recipient of the prestigious award, bringing relief to many. Earlier, reports of her omission had sparked outrage, with her father, Ram Kishan, and coach, Jaspal Rana, voicing their frustration.
Manu later acknowledged a possible oversight on her part during the nomination process.
The 22-year-old Bhaker made history as independent India's first athlete to win two medals in a single Olympics, earning bronze in both the 10m air pistol individual and 10m air pistol mixed team events in August.
Singh, meanwhile, captained the Indian hockey team to secure their second consecutive bronze medal at the same Games.
At just 18 years old, Gukesh became the youngest-ever World Chess Champion and played a pivotal role in helping the Indian team clinch a historic gold at the Chess Olympiad last year.
He will be only the second chess player to win the award.
The fourth recipient will be para high-jumper Praveen Kumar. He clinched the T64 title at the Paris Paralympics.
The T64 classification is for athletes who have one or both legs missing below the knee and rely on a prosthetic leg for running.
"The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at a specially organised function at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 17th January, 2025 (Friday) at 1100 hours," the sports ministry said in a press release.
The Khel Ratna Award, officially named the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award (formerly the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award), is the highest sporting honor in India.
Presented annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, it acknowledges outstanding contributions to the field of sports.
As of 2020, the Khel Ratna Award includes a medallion, a certificate, and a cash prize of INR 25 lakh.
The first recipient of the award was chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, honored for his performance in 1991–92. In 2001, sports shooter Abhinav Bindra, at the age of 18, became the youngest recipient of the award.
In 2023, the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award was presented to Chirag Shetty and Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy (badminton).
Khel Ratna Nominations And Selection Process
Nominations for the award are submitted by government-recognized National Sports Federations, the Indian Olympic Association, the Sports Authority of India (SAI), Sports Promotion and Control Boards, and state and union territory governments.
Each sports discipline can nominate no more than two eligible athletes. Nominations are accepted until April 30 or the last working day of April.
Once submitted, the valid nominations are reviewed by a 12-member selection committee appointed by the government. This committee includes a chairperson nominated by the Ministry.
For sports not part of the Olympics, Asian Games, or Commonwealth Games, such as cricket or indigenous games, the performance of the athlete is assessed individually.
The athlete with the highest performance score receives 80 marks, and others are given marks in proportion to the highest score. Based on the scores, the recommendations of the selection committee are submitted to the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports for further approval.
