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Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award Winners List, Now Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is India’s highest athletic honour. It was previously known as the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in Sports and Games. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to recognise and reward outstanding athletic achievement.  The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award consists of an Rs. 25 lakh cash prize, a medal, and a certificate. Learn everything you need to know about the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, including the list of winners, eligibility, nominations, and more.

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award

The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is a prestigious sporting honour in India named after Major Dhyan Chand, a legendary field hockey player who is regarded as one of the sport’s greatest players. The award is given to athletes who have made outstanding achievements in sports over a four-year period. It was first given in 1991-92, and it is considered India’s second highest sporting honour, after the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. The award recognises outstanding athletic performance and consists of a medal, a certificate, and a cash prize. Among those who have received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award are Sachin Tendulkar, Vishwanathan Anand, Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Mary Kom, and Virat Kohli among others.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2022

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2022 was shared by Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma and wrestler Vinesh Phogat. Rohit Sharma is a top-order batsman and one of India’s most successful captains, while Vinesh Phogat is a top-ranked wrestler who has won multiple international medals for India. Both athletes were chosen for their outstanding performances in their respective sports over the past year. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is India’s highest sporting honour, given out annually to athletes who have excelled in their sports.

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, established in 1991-1992, was given to a sportsperson for their performance over a year. Based on the recommendations made by the Khel Ratna award selection committee in 2014, the Ministry amended the standards in February 2015 to take achievements over four years into account. Nominations are accepted for a specific year until April 30, or the last working day of April, with a maximum of two athletes per athletic discipline.

A 12-member committee evaluates a sportsperson’s performance at numerous international competitions such as the Paralympic Games, Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and Asian Games.

Later, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award committee submits its recommendations to the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports for final approval. The award, which was given from 1991 to 2021, was named after Rajiv Gandhi, a former Indian Prime Minister.

Check out the list of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award winners from 2022 to the present below. It will be updated when the new list for the current year is released.

Name of the Sportsperson Discipline
Ms Ashwini Akkunji C. Athletics
Shri Dharamvir Singh Hockey
Shri B.C Suresh Kabaddi
Shri Nir Bahadur Gurung Para Athletics

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2021

Twelve athletes from various sports received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2021. These are their names:

Name of the Sportsperson Category
Neeraj Chopra Athletics
Ravi Kumar Wrestling
Sreejesh P.R Hockey
Lovlina Borgohain Boxing
Avani Lekhara Para Shooting
Pramod Bhagat Para-Badminton
Sumit Antil Para Athletics
Manish Narwal Para Shooting
Krishna Nagar Para-Badminton
Mithali Raj Cricket
Manpreet Singh Hockey
Sunil Chhetri Football

All of these athletes have excelled in their respective sports in recent years and were chosen for the award based on their outstanding performances. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is India’s highest sporting honour, given out annually to athletes who have excelled in their sports.

Since August 6, 2021, the prize has been named after Major Dhyan Chand (1905-79), an Indian hockey player who is considered one of the game’s all-time greats and scored over 1,000 goals during a career that spanned more than 20 years from 1926 to 1948.

Viswanathan Anand, the first recipient of the award, was recognised for his efforts in 1991-1992. Abhinav Bindra, an 18-year-old shooter at the time, received the award in 2001. There have been a few exceptions to the rule that only one athlete can win the award each year (1993-1994, 2002, 2009, 2012, and 2016-2021).

As of 2021, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award winners list includes the names of outstanding players from the fifteen sports listed below: Athletics, Billiards, Badminton, Boxing, Cricket, Chess, Gymnastics, Field hockey, Para Athletics, Para Shooting, Para-Badminton, Snooker, Shooting, Tennis, Table Tennis, Weightlifting, Wrestling, and Yacht racing are just some of the sports available. There have also been 57 Paralympic recipients in each of these sports.

First Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

The first Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award was given to chess grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand in 1991-92. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is India’s highest sporting honour, given out annually to athletes who have excelled in their sports. The award is named after Rajiv Gandhi, a former Indian Prime Minister who was a sports fan and wanted to promote sports in India.

List of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awards From 1991 to 2020

List of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award Winners
Name Sport Years
Viswanathan Anand Chess 1991–1992
Geet Sethi Billiards 1992–1993
Homi Motivala Yachting (Team event) 1993–1994
Pushpendra Kumar Garg Yachting (Team event)
Karnam Malleswari Weightlifting 1994–1995
Nameirakpam Kunjarani Weightlifting 1995–1996
Leander Paes Tennis 1996–1997
Sachin Tendulkar Cricket 1997–1998
Jyotirmoyee Sikdar Athletics 1998–1999
Dhanraj Pillay Hockey 1999–2000
Pullela Gopichand Badminton 2000–2001
Abhinav Bindra Shooting 2001
K. M. Beenamol Athletics 2002
Anjali Bhagwat Shooting
Anju Bobby George Athletics 2003
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore Shooting 2004
Pankaj Advani Billiards and Snooker 2005
Manavjit Singh Sandhu Shooting 2006
Mahendra Singh Dhoni Cricket 2007
No award 2008
Mary Kom Boxing 2009
Vijender Singh Boxing
Sushil Kumar Freestyle wrestling
Saina Nehwal Badminton 2010
Gagan Narang Shooting 2011
Vijay Kumar Shooting 2012
Yogeshwar Dutt Freestyle wrestling
Ronjan Sodhi Shooting 2013
No award 2014
Sania Mirza Tennis 2015
P. V. Sindhu Badminton 2016
Dipa Karmakar Gymnastics
Jitu Rai Shooting
Sakshi Malik Freestyle wrestling
Devendra Jhajharia Paralympic javelin 2017
Sardara Singh Hockey
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu Weightlifting 2018
Virat Kohli Cricket
Deepa Malik Paralympic (shot put, javelin, others) 2019
Bajrang Punia Freestyle wrestling
Rohit Sharma Cricket 2020
Mariyappan Thangavelu Paralympic high jump
Manika Batra Table tennis
Vinesh Phogat Freestyle wrestling
Rani Rampal Hockey

 

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FAQs

Who was the first winner of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award?

Viswanathan Anand, India's first chess grandmaster, received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award for the first time in 1991-1992.

Why is Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna given?

It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to recognise and reward outstanding athletic achievement. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award was recently given to 12 athletes in recognition of their exceptional and most impressive athletic achievements over the last four years.

What is Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and when it started?

The award was established in 1991-1992 to recognise a sportsperson's performance during the calendar year. Based on the recommendations of the 2014 award selection committee, the Ministry revised the criteria in February 2015 to take into account performance over a four-year period.

Which is the biggest award in sports?

The Khel Ratna is awarded for outstanding performances in sports over a four-year period, and winners receive a medallion, a certificate, and a cash prize. Viswanathan Anand, an Indian chess grandmaster, was the country's first Khel Ratna winner.

Which is the highest award in sports in the world?

The Laureus World Sports Awards are an annual award ceremony that recognises individuals and teams from the sports world as well as sporting achievements throughout the year. Daimler and Richemont, founding patrons of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, founded it in 1999.