On Thursday, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announced that four athletes have been chosen for the coveted Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, including chess world champion D Gukesh and shooter Manu Bhaker, who has won two Olympic medals. The award will also be given to Paralympic gold winner Praveen Kumar and men’s hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh.
Additionally, 32 athletes—including 17 para-athletes—have been announced by the Ministry for the Arjuna Awards.
The announcement comes after a dispute over rumors that Manu Bhaker was left off of the Khel Ratna nomination list. Coach Jaspal Rana and her father, Ram Kishan, were disappointed by the apparent error. Manu Bhaker later admitted, though, that there may have been an error made during the nomination process, which is now being fixed.
Manu Bhaker won bronze in the 10m air pistol individual and mixed team competitions at the Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first athlete from independent India to win two medals in one competition.
Harmanpreet Singh led the Indian men’s hockey team to their second straight bronze medal at the same Games.
Gukesh, 18, helped the Indian team win a historic gold at the Chess Olympiad last year and became the youngest-ever World Chess Champion.
The fourth recipient, Praveen Kumar, won the T64 division at the Paris Paralympics, which is for runners who have had their lower legs amputated and need prosthetics.
According to a news release from the Sports Ministry, the President of India will present the recipients with their honors during a special event at Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 17 at 11:00 am.
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