Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award Winners List, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is India’s highest athletic honour. It was previously known as the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in Sports and Games. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to recognise and reward outstanding athletic achievement.  The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award consists of an Rs. 25 lakh cash prize, a medal, and a certificate. Learn everything you need to know about the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, including the list of winners, eligibility, nominations, and more.

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award

The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award is a prestigious sporting honour in India named after Major Dhyan Chand, a legendary field hockey player who is regarded as one of the sport’s greatest players. The award is given to athletes who have made outstanding achievements in sports over a four-year period. It was first given in 1991-92, and it is considered India’s second highest sporting honour, after the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. The award recognises outstanding athletic performance and consists of a medal, a certificate, and a cash prize. Among those who have received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award are Sachin Tendulkar, Vishwanathan Anand, Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Mary Kom, and Virat Kohli among others.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2022

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2022 was shared by Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma and wrestler Vinesh Phogat. Rohit Sharma is a top-order batsman and one of India’s most successful captains, while Vinesh Phogat is a top-ranked wrestler who has won multiple international medals for India. Both athletes were chosen for their outstanding performances in their respective sports over the past year. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is India’s highest sporting honour, given out annually to athletes who have excelled in their sports.

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, established in 1991-1992, was given to a sportsperson for their performance over a year. Based on the recommendations made by the Khel Ratna award selection committee in 2014, the Ministry amended the standards in February 2015 to take achievements over four years into account. Nominations are accepted for a specific year until April 30, or the last working day of April, with a maximum of two athletes per athletic discipline.

A 12-member committee evaluates a sportsperson’s performance at numerous international competitions such as the Paralympic Games, Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and Asian Games.

Later, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award committee submits its recommendations to the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports for final approval. The award, which was given from 1991 to 2021, was named after Rajiv Gandhi, a former Indian Prime Minister.

Check out the list of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award winners from 2022 to the present below. It will be updated when the new list for the current year is released.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2021

Twelve athletes from various sports received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2021. These are their names:

All of these athletes have excelled in their respective sports in recent years and were chosen for the award based on their outstanding performances. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is India’s highest sporting honour, given out annually to athletes who have excelled in their sports.

Since August 6, 2021, the prize has been named after Major Dhyan Chand (1905-79), an Indian hockey player who is considered one of the game’s all-time greats and scored over 1,000 goals during a career that spanned more than 20 years from 1926 to 1948.

Viswanathan Anand, the first recipient of the award, was recognised for his efforts in 1991-1992. Abhinav Bindra, an 18-year-old shooter at the time, received the award in 2001. There have been a few exceptions to the rule that only one athlete can win the award each year (1993-1994, 2002, 2009, 2012, and 2016-2021).

As of 2021, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award winners list includes the names of outstanding players from the fifteen sports listed below: Athletics, Billiards, Badminton, Boxing, Cricket, Chess, Gymnastics, Field hockey, Para Athletics, Para Shooting, Para-Badminton, Snooker, Shooting, Tennis, Table Tennis, Weightlifting, Wrestling, and Yacht racing are just some of the sports available. There have also been 57 Paralympic recipients in each of these sports.

First Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

The first Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award was given to chess grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand in 1991-92. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is India’s highest sporting honour, given out annually to athletes who have excelled in their sports. The award is named after Rajiv Gandhi, a former Indian Prime Minister who was a sports fan and wanted to promote sports in India.

List of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awards From 1991 to 2020

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