Thursday 02 / May / 2024
New Delhi: It was a celebration of woman power in sports as Olympic stars PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik and Dipa Karmakar were conferred India's highest sporting honour -- the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna -- along with shooter Jitu Rai in a gleaming awards ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Monday.
For the first time in the history of National Sports Awards, four athletes were chosen for the Khel Ratna honour, owing to the three girls' superlative show at the Rio Olympics.
In 2009, three athletes -- boxers Vijender Singh and MC Mary Kom and wrestler Sushil Kumar -- had been given this award together.
Shuttler Sindhu won a historic silver in the women's singles, Sakshi won India's first ever medal (bronze) in women's wrestling while Dipa grabbed a piece of history for herself with a fourth place finish in artistic gymnastics with her now famous Produnova vault.
Shooter Jitu Rai was always a contender after consistently producing medal-winning performances in the last two years, including gold at the Asian and Commonwealth Games along with a silver at the World Championships.
The four Khel Ratnas, who were greeted with a loud round of applause when they walked up to receive their awards from President Pranab Mukherjee, received a medal, certificate and cash prize of Rs
7.5 lakh each.
Also honoured were 15 Arjuna awardees who received statuettes, certificates and award money of Rs5 lakh each.
Long distance runner Lalita Babar, who finished a creditable 10th in the 3000m steeplechase in the Rio Games, boxer Shiva Thapa, only the third Indian to win a World Championships medal last year, and hockey players VR Raghunath and Rani Rampal were among those who received the Arjuna award.
Cricketer Ajinkya Rahane, who was also selected for the Arjuna Award, missed out on the ceremony as he is in the United States with the Indian team for a Twenty20 series against the West Indies.
Teen Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, the first Indian athlete to become a world champion at any level with a gold medal at the U-20 World Championship, was also among the Arjuna winners this year.
Goalkeeper Subrata Paul was the lone footballer in the list of Arjuna awardees, which also included shooter Apurvi Chandela and wrestler Vinesh Phogat.
Vinesh received her award while seated on wheelchair as she is recovering from a knee injury sustained in her second-round bout during the Rio Olympic Games.
This year's Dronacharya Award was conferred upon six coaches, the most notable among them being Dipa's coach Bishweshwar Nandi and India Test team captain Virat Kohli's mentor Raj Kumar Sharma.
Meanwhile,
Sakshi Malik, the young Haryana grappler who was chased for bytes and selfies at Rashtrapati Bhawan after the National Sports Awards ceremony asked, "Are you interviewing me? where do I have the time to answer your questions?"
While a nonplussed Sakshi, hogging the limelight along with fellow Olympic stars, obliged the fans for selfies, gymnast Dipa Karmakar patiently explained the pronunciation of her last name to an elderly person.
The elegant and composed PV Sindhu too posed for the cameras happily before rushing out of Rashtrapati Bhawan.
These were a few happy scenes at one of the halls of the Rashtrapati Bhawan but at one corner, sitting on a wheel chair, was Vinesh Phogat submerged in deep thoughts, perhaps still thinking about what could have been an Olympic medal but for the knee injury sustained in Rio.
At a loss to put into words her disappointment, Vinesh said she can't explain what she is going through at the moment.
She received her Arjuna Award seated on a wheelchair and President himself stepped forward to present her the trophy and citation, drawing a huge applause from the gathering at Durbar Hall.
Her right leg plastered, due to a ligament tear, Vinesh barely managed a smile even as she kept thanking people for their wishes.
Asked how long will it take for her to recover, she said, "I don't now. Maybe 4 months, 5 months, 6 months."
Her eyes welled up but she somehow managed to hold back from breaking down.
"I don't have words to explain to you (the pain)," she said.
Perhaps, it was not the physical pain she was enduring but the heartbreaking abrupt end of her campaign in Rio.
A quiet Lalita Babar happily obliged interview-seekers, saying that she will 'rest' for two months before re-starting her preparations for the Asian and World Championship.
Lalita, who finished 10th in the 3000m steeplechase, said they can too make the next grade provided they have better competitors at home.
"There are only two girls, me and Sudha. If we have more fierce rivals in domestic circuit, that will inspire us to do better," she said.
Lalita, hailing from Maharashtra, said the strength of the African sprinters was 'God's gift'.
"We train harder than them and are more disciplined but they are naturally gifted," she said adding that the money that is being showered on the performers, if given during the training, will help them prepare better for big stage.
