National Sports Awards 2023: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty recommended for Khel Ratna - full list of nominations
Cricketer Mohammed Shami and wrestler Antim Panghal are among 26 athletes nominated for the Arjuna Award by the Indian sports ministry.
Indian badminton players Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, also known as the ‘Brothers of Destruction’, have been nominated for the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna at the National Sports Awards 2023.
The Khel Ratna is India’s highest sporting honour given annually by India's Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Nominated sportspersons receive their awards from the President of India.
Five badminton players have been conferred the Khel Ratna so far; Pullela Gopichand (2001), Saina Nehwal (2010), PV Sindhu (2016), Pramod Bhagat (2021) and Krishna Nagar (2021).
Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy won three BWF titles this year; the Swiss Open, the Indonesia Open and the Korea Open. The Indian duo also made history by winning India’s first gold medal in badminton at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in October and bagged the Badminton Asia Championships in April.
Chirag-Satwik also became the first Indian doubles pair in history to take the world No. 1 spot in the badminton rankings this October.
Last year, the Indian shuttlers helped India win the Thomas Cup, clinched the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and won a bronze medal at the World Championships.
Table tennis player Sharath Kamal was the only sportsperson to receive Khel Ratna last year. India’s national sports awards selection committee recommended five names in 2020 and 11 in 2021.
Tokyo 2020 javelin throw champion Neeraj Chopra, despite winning gold medals at the World Athletics Championships and Asian Games in 2023, could not be recommended for Khel Ratna as he has already won the award in the past.
Apart from nominating Rankireddy and Shetty for the Khel Ratna, the national sports awards selection committee recommended 26 sportspersons for the Arjuna Awards.
Cricketer Mohammed Shami, archer Aditi Swami, steeplechaser Parul Chaudhary, shooter Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and wrestler Antim Panghal have been recommended for the Arjuna Award.
Young Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa’s coach RB Ramesh has been nominated for the prestigious Dronacharya Award.
The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 9.
National Sports Awards 2023: Players nominated
Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award: Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty (badminton)
Arjuna Award: Ojas Pravin Deotale (archery), Aditi Swami (archery), M Sreeshankar (athletics), Parul Chaudhary (athletics), Mohameed Hussamuddin (boxing), R Vaishali (chess), Mohammed Shami (cricket), Anush Agarwalla (equestrian), Divyakriti Singh (equestrian dressage), Diksha Dagar (golf), Krishan Bahadur Pathak (hockey), Pukhrambam Sushila Chanu (hockey), Pawan Kumar (kabaddi), Ritu Negi (kabaddi), Nasreen (kho-kho) Pinki (lawn bowls), Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar (shooting), Esha Singh (shooting), Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (squash), Ayhika Mukherjee (table tennis), Sunil Kumar (wrestling), Antim Panghal (wrestling), Naorem Roshibina Devi (wushu), Sheetal Devi (para archery), Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy (blind cricket), Prachi Yadav (para canoeing)
Dronacharya Award regular category: Ganesh Prabhakaran (mallakhamb), Mahavir Saini (para athletics), Lalit Kumar (wrestling), RB Ramesh (chess), Shivendra Singh (hockey)
Dronacharya Award lifetime category: Jaskirat Singh Grewal (golf), Bhaskaran E (kabaddi), Jayanta Kumar Pushilal (table tennis)
Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement: Kavitha Selvaraj (kabaddi), Manjusha Kanwar (badminton), Vineet Kumar Sharma (hockey)