Delhi / Deepa Malik first woman para-athlete to be conferred Khel Ratna

Deepa Malik, the first Indian woman to win a medal in Paralympics, was conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award by President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhawan on Thursday. The 48-year-old is the first Indian woman para-athlete and the oldest sportsperson to be conferred the award. Malik had won silver medal in shot put F53 category in 2016 Paralympics.

Firstpost : Aug 29, 2019, 09:09 PM

New Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday conferred annual Arjuna Awards to 19 athletes and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award to para-athlete Deepa Malik and wrestler Bajrang Punia in a glittering ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here.

The Selection Committee for Sports Awards 2019 had nominated the winners earlier this month. The awards are given on the occasion of National Sports Day (29 August) to mark the birth anniversary of hockey wizard late Major Dhyanchand. A stalwart of the sport, Dhyanchand won three gold medals at the Olympics for pre-independent India.

Among the Arjuna awardees, Ravindra Jadeja, Anjum Moudgill, and Mohd Anas missed the ceremony owing to their professional commitments. Jadeja is currently in West Indies where the Indian cricket team is playing a bilateral series, Moudgill is representing India at the ISSF Shooting World Cup in Rio that got underway on Wednesday, while Anas is in Lucknow to participate in the Inter-State Athletics Meet.

Khel Ratna awardee wrestler Bajrang Punia also missed the function as he is in Russia as a part of tune-up for the upcoming World Championships (14-22 September) in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

Here's a complete list of winners who were honoured today:

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna

Bajrang Puna (Wrestling)

Deepa Malik (Para-athletics)

Arjuna Award

Ravindra Jadeja (cricket)

Mohammed Anas Yahiya (athletics)

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (football)

Sonia Lather (boxing)

Chinglensana Singh Kangujam (hockey)

S Bhaskaran (bodybuilding)

Ajay Thakur (kabaddi)