Sports Minister physically hands over Khel Ratna, Arjuna Awards to winners of National Sports Awards 2020

All the winners of the National Sports Awards 2020 had already received the cash awards but were not able to collect their trophies and citation during last year’s event when the Sports Awards ceremony was held virtually owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 29th August 2020, The Sports Ministry handed over a total of 74 National Sports Awards, including 5 Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratnas and 27 Arjuna Awards.

The ceremony was attended by many awardees, including Rani Rampal, Vinesh Phogat and Mariyappan Thangavelu, who received the prestigious Khel Ratna Award, and Lovlina Borgohain, Ishant Sharma, Atanu Das, Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Chandrasekhar Shetty, among others who received the Arjuna Award.

The event was also graced by the presence of the Honourable Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Anurag Thakur, along with Secretary Sports Smt. Sujata Chaturvedi, Secretary of Youth Affairs Smt. Usha Sharma and other top ministry and SAI officials.

Addressing the awardees the minister said, “The National Sports Awards is a prestigious award that is won by athletes after years of dedication and hard work. Congratulations to all the awardees and the very best for their future events. The journey of the awardees doesn’t end here, there is more to be achieved. We must also continue to look for talented athletes, groom them and make them capable of winning medals at the International level. So I request all the athletes to take the pledge of at least grooming and training five such athletes who can win medals for India in the future.”

Full list of National Sports Awardees for the year 2020:

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award: Rohit Sharma (Cricket), Mariyappan Thangavelu (Para-Athletics), Manika Batra (Table Tennis), Vinesh Phogat (Wrestling), Rani Rampal (Hockey).

Arjuna Award: Atanu Das (Archery), Dutee Chand (Athletics), Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy (Badminton), Chirag Chandrasekhar Shetty (Badminton), Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (Basketball), 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 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).

Dronacharya Award (Life-Time Category): 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).

Dronacharya (Regular Category): Jude Felix (Hockey), Yogesh Malviya (Mallakhamb), Jaspal Rana (Shooting), Kuldeep Kumar Handoo (Wushu), Gaurav Khanna (Para Badminton).

Dhyan Chand Award: 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), Late Shri Sachin Nag (Swimming), Nandan Bal (Tennis), Netarpal Hooda (Wrestling).

Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards: Anita Devi (Land Adventure), Col Sarfraz Singh (Land Adventure), Taka Tamut (Land Adventure), Keval Hiren Kakka (Land Adventure), Satendra Singh (Water Adventure), Gajanand Yadava (Air Adventure), Late Magan Bissa (Life Time Achievement).

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy: Panjab University, Chandigarh.

Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar: Identification and Nurturing of Budding and Young Talent: Lakshya Institute, Army Sports Institute.

Encouragement to sports through Corporate Social Responsibility: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Ltd.

Employment of sportspersons and sports welfare measures: Air Force Sports Control Board.

Sports for Development: International Institute of Sports Management (IISM).