New Delhi (TIP)- Paris Olympics double medallist shooter Manu Bhaker, recently crowned world chess champion D Gukesh, men’s hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh and para athlete Praveen Kumar were picked for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in a list announced by the Union sports ministry on Thursday, January 2.
The confirmation of Bhaker being given the country’s highest sporting honour comes after the 22-year-old’s name did not figure in the initial list by the 12-member awards committee last month. That the only athlete in independent India to win two medals in the same Olympics was overlooked raised eyebrows and evoked criticism. However, Bhaker later admitted her “lapse” in not filing for the nomination.
Once that was “being corrected”, as Bhaker said in her social media post last month, it was more or less certain that the sports ministry would add her name to the final list.
Gukesh, who won the World Chess Championship title only on December 12, is also a late addition as the last date for filing the nominations for the award that takes into consideration performances over the last four years closed in November.
The ministry of youth affairs and sports stated that the four Khel Ratna and 32 Arjuna awardees were finalised “based on the recommendations of the Committee and after due scrutiny”. The athletes will be handed their awards by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 17.
“I’m extremely humbled and honoured to know that the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports have announced the prestigious award for me, and for recognising my achievements,” Gukesh said. “This award will motivate me to work even harder and achieve more laurels for the country in 2025.”
For Gukesh, this highest honour only underlines his stunning rise over the last couple of years that led him to becoming the youngest player to win the Candidates at 17 and eventually the youngest world champion at 18.
“I’m happy that the right decision has been taken and Manu has been handed the award. No deserving athlete should be left out,” Jaspal Rana, Bhaker’s personal coach, said. “It was very important to set the right example. Not just Manu, any athlete who deserves recognition and does not get it is bound to feel demoralised.”
Bhaker was India’s standout performer at last year’s Paris Olympics, with her twin bronze medals (10m air pistol individual and mixed with Sarabjot Singh who has been chosen for the Arjuna Award) alone pushing India’s overall tally to six. Bhaker was granted the Arjuna Award in 2020.
Harmanpreet led the India men’s hockey team to a second consecutive Olympic bronze medal in Paris. The star dragflicker was the highest goalscorer at the Games, and fired both the goals in India’s bronze medal match where the team rallied to win from a goal down against Spain. Under his leadership, India also grabbed the Asian Games gold medal in Hangzhou in 2023, sealing their ticket to Paris.
“It’s a big deal for me. I would thank my team for it — this award may have an individual’s name on it but it belongs to the entire team,” Harmanpreet said in Rourkela, where he is playing the Hockey India League. “This will motivate me to keep working hard and try to achieve things that we haven’t so far.”
The fourth recipient, Praveen, became the T64 high jump champion at the Paris Paralympics. Born with a congenital condition affecting the bones connecting his hip to his left leg, the 21-year-old from Uttar Pradesh upgraded his second Paralympic medal from silver in Tokyo in 2021 to gold in Paris last year. He had also grabbed the gold at the 2023 Asian Para Games rewriting a new Games record.
Indian para athletes are not only swelling the medals tally at the Paralympics but also expanding their presence in these awards. As many as 17 among the 32 chosen names for the Arjuna Award are para athletes, after the country won a record 29 medals, including seven gold at the Paris Paralympics.
Former para swimmer Murlikant Petkar, India’s first Paralympic gold medallist, will also be handed the lifetime Arjuna Award along with Sucha Singh (athletics). Among other awards, Deepali Deshpande (shooting), Sandeep Sangwan (hockey) and Subhash Rana (para shooting) will be handed the Dronacharya Award, the highest honour for coaches, while S Muralidharan (badminton) and Armando Colaco (football) will get the same award in the lifetime category.