National sports awards presented, Neeraj Chopra gets Khel Ratna from President of India
Neeraj Chopra was among 12 Khel Ratna awardees to be bestowed the honour. The Arjuna and Dronacharya awards were also handed out.
Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra and Tokyo 2020 Paralympics gold-medallists Avani Lekhara, Sumit Antil and Pramod Bhagat received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award for 2021 in New Delhi on Saturday.
The national sports awards were given by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the President in the national capital.
Tokyo 2020 medallists Ravi Kumar Dahiya, PR Sreejesh, Manpreet Singh and Lovlina Borgohain also received their Khel Ratna awards from the President of India.
Indian cricket captain Mithali Raj became the first woman Indian cricketer to receive the Khel Ratna. Sunil Chhetri, meanwhile, became the first football player to receive the honour.
In all, 12 sportspersons received the Khel Ratna, the highest sporting award in India.
Olympians Simranjit Kaur, Vandana Katariya, Bhavani Devi, Tokyo 2020 medallists Rupinder Pal Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and Tokyo Paralympics medallist Nishad Kumar were among 35 athletes to receive the Arjuna Award.
There were 12 recipients of the Dronacharya Award, bestowed to top coaches.
The awards ceremony is traditionally held on August 29 -- the National Sports Day. But it was postponed this year to accommodate athletes competing in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, which concluded in September.