President Gives Away National Sports Awards: Khel Ratna for Virat Kohli and Mirabai Chanu

New Delhi: Indian cricketer Virat Kohli and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu were honoured with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award by President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Star Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and sprinter Hima Das were among the 20 sportspersons conferred with Arjuna Awards..

The ceremony, held traditionally on August 29 to commemorate Hockey legend Dhyan Chand’s birth anniversary, was shifted to September 5 to avoid a clash of dates with the 18th Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang on September 2.

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is given to a sportsperson who has shown an outstanding performance over a period of four years.

The Dronacharya Award was given to Subedar Chenanda Achaiah Kuttappa, Vijay Sharma, A. Srinivasa Rao, Sukhdev Singh Pannu, Clarence Lobo, Tarak Sinha, Jiwan Kumar Sharma and VR Beedu.

The Dronacharya Award is also given to coaches who produce medal winners at prestigious international sports events and was presented to eight coaches this year. The names include cricket mentor Tarak Sinha and boxing coach C. A. Kuttappa.

Likewise, Dhyan Chand Award is conferred to those who contribute to sports development for life time. Rashtriya Khel Protsahan, on the other hand, is awarded to corporate entities, both public and private sectors, including individuals who have played an important role in the area of sports promotion and development.