Manu Bhaker received thunderous applause when she was honoured with Khel Ratna
D Gukesh, Harmanpreet Singh and Praveen Kumar also received their Khel Ratna awards
A total of 32 athletes were honoured with the Arjuna Award at the Rashtrapati Bhavan
NEW DELHI, JANUARY 17, 2025: President of India Droupadi Murmu presented the Sports and Adventure Awards 2024 at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday (January 17, 2025). The Awards include Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Awards-2024; Dronacharya Awards-2024; Arjuna Awards-2024; Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards-2023; Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar-2024; and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy-2024.
Double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker and world chess champion D. Gukesh were conferred with the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna awards by President Droupadi Murmu. The star athletes received a rousing reception from those present at the National Sports Day ceremony, held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
India men’s hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh and Praveen Kumar, who clinched a gold medal in the high jump at the Paris Paralympics, were also honoured with the award by the President.
Manu Bhaker and D. Gukesh were among four athletes to receive the nation’s highest sporting honour this year. Manu secured two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics, making history as the first athlete from independent India to win more than one individual medal in a single edition of the Games. Overcoming the disappointment of her previous Olympics performance, she bounced back strongly to deliver a historic achievement in Paris.
D Gukesh had become the youngest man to win the World chess championship. The 19-year-old Gukesh defeated Ding Liren in the World Championship match in Singapore last year to become only the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to win the top prize in classical chess.
As many as 32 athletes received the Arjuna Award, the second-highest sporting honour in India. For the first time, para-athletes outnumbered able-bodied athletes after their sensational show in the Paralympics in Paris.
India finished a respectable 18th in the Paris Paralympics medal table, winning 29 medals, including seven gold medals. Olympic medalists Sarabjot Singh and Swapnil Kusale were also among the athletes who received the Arjuna Award.
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