Neeraj Chopra, India’s famed Olympic gold medallist, expressed his gratitude for receiving the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. After becoming the first Indian to win a gold medal in a track and field event at the Olympics, Neeraj was an obvious pick for the Khel Ratna Award.
On Saturday, Indian President Ram Nath Kovind bestowed the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award on Neeraj Chopra. Chopra won the gold medal in the javelin throw at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics earlier this year. In the Olympics, he was India’s only second individual gold medalist and the country’s first in athletics. Chopra accepted the award during the National Sports Awards ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
On November 2, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports released the National Sports Awards. The awards are given out every year to recognize and reward sporting excellence.
Neeraj Chopra wasn’t the only one
In addition to Neeraj, Ravi Kumar, who earned a silver medal in wrestling in the Tokyo Olympics, received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna. The esteemed prize was given to Lovlina Borgohain, Sreejesh PR, and Manpreet Singh, who also brought laurels to the country during the Tokyo Olympics.
Para-athletes Pramod Bhagat, Krishna Nagar, Manish Narwal, and Sumit Antil, who won a gold and a bronze medal in para-shooting at the Tokyo Paralympics, were also honored with the Khel Ratna. Sunil Chhetri, the captain of the Indian men’s football team, and Mithali Raj, the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team (ODIs and Tests), were among those who got the Khel Ratna award at the function.
List of all the awardees
Neeraj Chopra – Athletics
Ravi Kumar – Wrestling
Lovlina Borgohain – Boxing
Sreejesh P.R – Hockey
Avani Lekhara – Para Shooting
Sumit Antil – Para-Athletics
Pramod Bhagat – Para Badminton
Krishna Nagar – Para-Badminton
Manish Narwal – Para Shooting
Mithali Raj – Cricket
Sunil Chhetri – Football
Manpreet Singh – Hockey
Neeraj Chopra, who won the men’s javelin gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in August, said he will keep working hard to help the country achieve greater success.
