Manu Bhaker, Double Olympic Medallist, to Receive 2024 Khel Ratna Award

Khel Ratna Award for 2024: The year 2024 has been exceptional for Indian sports. Numerous athletes achieved remarkable feats, bringing glory to the nation. Today, the names of the athletes who will be awarded the prestigious Khel Ratna Award were announced.

Khel Ratna Award for 2024: 2024 was a special year for India in terms of sports. The country performed brilliantly in the Olympic and Paralympic events and achieved historic feats in cricket, chess, and several other sports. The government fully supported the athletes’ tireless efforts, and it is now ready to honour those whose hard work yielded the most significant results. Four athletes, including young shooter Manu Bhaker, who created history by winning two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics, and D Gukesh, the youngest world chess champion, will be awarded the country’s highest sports award, ‘Khel Ratna’. In addition, 32 other athletes will be awarded the Arjuna Award.

The Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs announced the National Sports Awards 2024 on Thursday. The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at a special ceremony to be held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 17 January 2025 at 11 am. Besides Manu Bhaker and Gukesh, Harmanpreet Singh, captain of the Indian men’s hockey team, who won a bronze medal at the Olympics, and para-athlete Praveen Kumar will be awarded the Khel Ratna. Manu not only hoisted the Indian flag in the individual event at the Olympic Games 2024 but also won a bronze medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event with Sarabjot Singh. This double success at the Paris Olympics has taken her to new heights of success.

Gukesh Crowned Chess Champion

Chess player D Gukesh will also be awarded the Khel Ratna Award. Gukesh achieved the honour of becoming the youngest world chess champion on 12 December last month. In the World Championship held in Singapore, Gukesh defeated Ding Liren of China to win the title. At just 18 years old, he became the world champion, a world record.

32 Athletes Awarded Arjuna Awards

1. Jyoti Yaraaji (Athletics)
2. Annu Rani (Athletics)
3. Neetu (Boxing)
4. Sweety (Boxing)
5. Vantika Agrawal (Chess)
6. Salima Tete (Hockey)
7. Abhishek (Hockey)
8. Sanjay (Hockey)
9. Jarmanpreet Singh (Hockey)
10. Sukhjinder Singh (Hockey)
11. Rakesh Kumar (Para Archery)
12. Priti Pal (Para Athletics)
13. Jeevanji Dipti (Para Athletics)
14. Ajit Singh (Para Athletics)
15. Sachin Sarjerao Khilari (Para Athletics)
16. Dharambir (Para Athletics)
17. Pranav Surma (Para Athletics)
18. H Hokato Sema (Para Athletics)
19. Simran J (Para Athletics)
20. Navdeep (Para Athletics)
21. Nitesh Kumar (Para Badminton)
22. Thulasi Mathee Murugesan (Para Badminton)
23. Nitya Sri Sumathi Siwan (Para Badminton)
24. Manisha Ramdas (Para Badminton)
25. Kapil Parmar (Para Judo)
26. Mona Agrawal (Para Shooting)
27. Rubina Francis (Para Shooting)
28. Swapnil Suresh Kusale (Shooting)
29. Sarabjot Singh (Shooting)
30. Abhay Singh (Squash)
31. Sajan Prakash (Swimming)
32. Aman (Wrestling)

Arjuna Award (Lifetime)

• Sucha Singh – Athletics
• Muralikant Rajaram Petkar – Para Swimmer

Dronacharya Award (Regular Category)

• Subhash Rana – Para Shooting
• Deepali Deshpande – Shooting
• Sandeep Sangwan – Hockey

Dronacharya Award (Lifetime Category)

• S. Muralidharan – Badminton
• Armando Aganelo Colaso – Football

National Sports Promotion Awards

• Physical Education Foundation of India (PEFI)
• Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy
• Chandigarh University – Overall Winner
• Lovely Professional University – First Runner-up
• Amritsar Guru Nanak Dev University – Second Runner-up