Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award Winners
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What is Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award?
The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is the top most sporting honour in India. The prestigious sport award was instituted in 1991–92. It is given to the individuals for their spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports over a period of four years at international level. The award is given annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.
Rathore
Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore is the present Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Youth Affairs And Sports. He is a former professional shooter. He won a silver medal in the 2004 Olympic Games. At the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, Rathore won a Gold Medal. He set a new Commonwealth Games Record of 192 targets out of 200, which still stands. Rathore was awarded Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2004 and the Padma Shri in 2005. He was elected as a MP in the 2014 Lok Sabha election from Jaipur Rural constituency.
Who is Rajiv Gandhi?
The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award is named after Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India who served the office from 1984 to 1989. Rajiv Gandhi was born in Bombay on 20 August 1944 to Indira and Feroze Gandhi. In 1968, after three years of courtship, he married Edvige Antonia Albina Màino, who changed her name to Sonia Gandhi and made India her home. Rajiv become the youngest Indian Prime Minister at the age of 40. In 1991 the Indian government posthumously awarded Gandhi the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award.
What’s in Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award?
As of 2017, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee will receive a cash prize of Rs. 7.5 lakh, a medal and a citation. In 2017, Justice C.K. Thakkar (former Judge Supreme Court of India, Chief Justice of High Court of Himachal and Bombay) headed the Selection Committee for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Awards.
How does GOI select Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award Winners?
Initially, the award was presented for the outstanding performance in the field of sports for a period of one year. The duration was revised to four years from 2015. A committee comprising twelve members evaluates the performances of a sportsperson at various International events like Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Asian Games, and Commonwealth Games. The committee submits their recommendations to the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports for further approval.
Complete List of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award Winners
As of 2017, there have been thirty-four recipients from different sport disciplines.
| S No | YEAR | RAJIV GANDHI KHEL RATNA AWARD WINNERS | SPORT DISCIPLINES |
| 01 | 1991 | Viswanathan Anand | Chess |
| 02 | 1992 | Geet Sethi | Billiards |
| 03 | 1993 | Homi Motivala & Garg Pushpendra Kumar | Yachting (Team Event) |
| 04 | 1994 | Karnam Malleswari | Weight Lifting |
| 05 | 1995 | Nameirakpam Kunjarani | Weight Lifting |
| 07 | 1996 | Leander Paes | Tennis |
| 08 | 1997 | Sachin Tendulkar | Cricket |
| 09 | 1998 | Jyotirmoyee Sikdar | Athletics |
| 10 | 1999 | Dhanraj Pillay | Hockey |
| 11 | 2001 | Pullela Gopichand
Abhinav Bindra |
Badminton
Shooting |
| 12 | 2002 | KM Beenamol
Anjali Bhagwat |
Athletics
Shooting |
| 13 | 2003 | Anju Bobby George | Athletics |
| 14 | 2004 | Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore | Shooting |
| 15 | 2005 | Pankaj Advani | Billiards and Snooker |
| 16 | 2006 | Manavjit Singh Sandhu | Shooting |
| 17 | 2007 | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | Cricket |
| 18 | 2009 | Mary Kom
Vijender Singh Sushil Kumar |
Boxing (Women)
Boxing (Men) Wrestling |
| 19 | 2010 | Saina Nehwal | Badminton |
| 20 | 2011 | Gagan Narang | Shooting |
| 21 | 2012 | Vijay Kumar
Yogeshwar Dutt |
Shooting
Wrestling |
| 22 | 2013 | Ronjan Sodhi | Shooting |
| 23 | 2015 | Sania Mirza | Tennis |
| 24 | 2016 | P. V. Sindhu
Dipa Karmakar Jitu Rai Sakshi Malik |
Badminton
Gymnastics Shooting Wrestling |
| 25 | 2017 | Devendra Jhajharia
Sardara Singh |
Para Athlete
Hockey |
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Tidbits about Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award Winners
- Pankaj Advani is the only sportsperson to have won the award for two sports disciplines; Billiards and Snooker.
- The first recipient of the award Viswanathan Anand is country’s first chess Grandmaster and a five time winner of World Chess Championship.
- In 2001, sport shooter Abhinav Bindra became the youngest recipient of the award.
- Dhanraj Pillay’s biography, Forgive Me Amma, written by journalist Sundeep Misra, who tracked his career for over two decades, released in 2007.
- Leander Paes competed in consecutive Olympic appearances from 1992 to 2016, making him the first Indian and only tennis player to compete at seven Olympic Games.
- Mary Kom’s autobiography – Unbreakable.
- At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Sakshi Malik won the bronze medal in the 58 kg category, becoming the first Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics and the fourth female Olympic medalist from the country.
- Dipa Kamarkar is the first Indian female gymnast ever to compete in the Olympics. Karmakar successfully landed the Produnova, one of the most difficult vault position.
