National Sports Awards in India
In India, there are a lot of national sports awards given to both sportsmen and coaches. The highest sports award in India is known as The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. However, there are some other awards too which the athletes get due to extraordinary performance in their specific events. The national sports awards are being given to many people in 2020. Here you can get to know about the most eminent sportsmen and coaches who got national awards in the sports field. However, you need to know some facts about all the national sports awards in India. Have a look at this note, and you will have a clear idea about the different national awards for sports in India.
National Sports Awards in India According To Hierarchy
Like all types of awards in the country, there is a hierarchy for the national sports awards in India. Have a look at the following Sports Awards’ list:
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award: The Khel Ratna Award, named after Rajiv Gandhi, the ex-Prime Minister of India, is the highest national award for sports in India. It was recently named Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. However, as we are mentioning the list of awardees in 2020, we can use the former name.
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The people who get this award are selected by a committee in respect to the most outstanding and spectacular performance in the field of sports. The criteria for one who gets this award is that the person has to perform consistently for over four years at the national level. The committee which chooses the awardees is appointed by the sports ministry of India.
Apart from a certificate and a medallion, the awardee of the Khel Ratna Award gets a cash prize of Rs. 25 Lakhs from the sports ministry. As per history, eminent sports personalities like Abhinav Bindra and Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand (pioneer) have already got India’s highest sports award.
Dronacharya Award: The Dronacharya Award is yet another national sports award in India that is given to the coaches of the country. It is named after ‘Guru Drona’ who was the teacher of the Pandavas and the Kauravas in the mighty Indian epic of Mahabharata.
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The Dronacharya Award awardees are selected by a committee that works under the Ministry of Youth Awards and Sports. It is a lifetime and regular award that is given to the coaches for their prolonged contribution to a sports event and taking their disciples to international esteem.
An awardee of the Dronacharya Award gets a bronze statue of Dronacharya, a certificate, a ceremonial dress, along with a decent cash prize of Rs. 15 Lakhs.
Coaches like Om Prakash Bharadwaj and O Nambiar have been the recipients of the Dronacharya Award.
Arjuna Award: Arjuna Award is more or less the same as Dronacharya Award, but it is given to the sportsmen who have given outstanding performance in a sporting event for more than 4 years at the national level.
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The selection of the Arjuna Awardees is done by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and the price and certificates are the same as the Dronacharya Award. The only difference is that the bronze trophy given to the awardee replicates Arjuna with his bow and arrow in a sitting position.
Dhyan Chand Award: The Dhyan Chand award is one of the unique national sports awards in India. It is given to the sportsmen who keep on active participation in their own sports field both before and after retirement.
The selection process of the awardees is the same as that of the Arjuna Award and the Dronacharya Award, but the prize money is Rs. 10 Lakhs. All the awardees of the Dhyan Chand Award must have the recognition of the Sports Authority of India. Moreover, they should have the registration of the Indian Olympic Association.
National Sports Award Winners in 2020
Here are the names of the National Sports Award Winners in 2020. Segmentations are done following the awards they have got in the last awarding session.
The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award
1. Rohit Sharma- Cricket
2. Manika Batra- Table Tennis
3. Rani- Hockey
4.Vinesh- Wrestling
5. Mariyappan T. - Para Athletics
The Khel Ratna Award was given to Rohit Sharma for his records in Indian Cricket for the last four years till 2020.
The Dronacharya Award: The Dronacharya Award was given to the selected recipients both on a lifetime and regular basis. Both the lists are given below:
Lifetime:
1. Purushottam Rai- Athletics
2. Shiv Singh- Boxing
3. Romesh Pathania- Hockey
4. Dharmendra Tiwary- Archery
5. Vijay Balachandra Munishwar- Para Powerlifting
6. Krishan Kumar Hooda- Kabaddi
7. O P Dhariya- Wrestling
Regular
1. Yogesh Malviya- Mallakhamb
2. J Felix Sebastian- Hockey
3. Kuldip Kumar Handoo- Wushu
4. Jaspal Rana- Shooting
5. Gaurav Khanna- Para Badminton
Arjuna Award: The Arjuna Award is given to multiple personalities in different fields of sports in the year 2020. Here is the complete list:
1. Ishant Sharma- Cricket
2. Deepti Sharma -Cricket
3. Atanu Das- Archery
4. Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy- Badminton
5. Dutee Chand- Athletics
6. Chirag Chandrasekhar Shetty- Badminton
7. Lovlina Borgohain- Boxing
8. Vishesh Bhriguvanshi- Basketball
9. Sawant Ajay Anant- Equestrian
10. Akashdeep Singh- Hockey
11. Sandesh Jhingan- Football
12. Kale Sarika Sudhakar- Kho Kho
13. Deepak- Hockey
14. Deepika- Hockey
15. Manish Narwal- Para Shooting
16. Divya Kakran- Wrestling
17. Sandeep- Para Athletics
18. Rahul Aware- Wrestling
19. Madhurika Suhas Patkar- Table Tennis
20. Saurabh Chaudhary- Shooting
21. Manu Bhaker- Shooting
Dhyan Chand Award: The list of Dhyan Chand awardees of 2020 is quite long. Here are some of the names who have got the award last year:
1. Kuldip Singh Bhullar- Athletics
2. Pradeep Shrikrishna Gandhe- Badminton
3. Jincy Philips- Athletics
4. Trupti Murgunde- Badminton
5. Ajit Singh- Hockey
6. Sukhvinder Singh Sandhu- Football
7. Manjeet Singh- Rowing
8. J. Ranjith Kumar-Para Athletics
9. Netarpal Hooda- Wrestling
10. Lakha Singh- Boxing
The Khel Ratna Award- Why renamed after Dhyan Chand?
The Khel Ratna Award of India which was formerly known by the name of Rajiv Gandhi, has been changed to Major Dhyan Chand. There is a lot to know about this person. Major Dhyan Chand was an officer of the Indian Army and a gifted Hockey player of his time.
On the auspicious occasion of the national sports day, the Khel Ratna Award was renamed after him. It was the 29th of August 2020, which is his birthday. This day is celebrated with great enthusiasm in Allahabad city, his hometown.
Major Dhyan Chand is still counted among the hockey wizards ever lived on this earth. Major Dhyan Chand is better known for the gold medal won by the team under his captaincy in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. So, it is clear that changing the name of the Khel Ratna Award is a perfect gesture of paying him the right tribute.
However, as there is already an award named after him for the eminent sports personalities, people might get confused. So, the name goes by Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.
The legacy of Major Dhyan Chand is still prominent in India as there are a lot of youngsters who get inspired by him and pick up the hockey stick in hand. The people who saw Major Chand playing believed that there might be some kind of a magnet in his bat which would make the ball stick to his bat. As another story goes, he was offered a place as a player in the German Hockey Team by Adolf Hitler which he declined. Major Dhyan Chand was awarded Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 1956.
FAQs on National Sports Awards and the Winners
1. Can a person who has won a Gold Medal in the Olympics get the Khel Ratna Award?
It is not likely that a sportsperson gets the Khel Ratna Award just because he/she has won a gold medal in the Olympics. One of the primary criteria for a person to win the Khel Ratna Award is a consistently outstanding performance of 4 years. Generally, the Olympic Gold Medalists keep participating in other national and international events where they stand victorious. So, someone who has won a gold medal in his/her event in the Olympics is more likely to get the Khel Ratna Award sooner or later. All they must ensure is that the level of performance does not degrade in this span of 4 years.
2. What is the eligibility to get the Dronacharya Award?
In India, the Dronacharya Award is given to the coaches. It is one of the prestigious national sports awards of the country. Being a coach, the eligibility of a person should be that his disciple should win any of the three medals in the Olympics or international events. Secondly, a coach can get this award if his/her disciple breaks a world record in any of the events. Thirdly, if the disciple wins an event in the Asian or Commonwealth games. Finally, a coach can have a chance of getting the Dronacharya Award if the disciple wins three gold medals in the Commonwealth games.
