National Sports Awards 2024: Manu Bhaker, Gukesh, Harmanpreet Singh, Praveen Kumar honoured with Khel Ratna by President Murmu
Double Olympic medallist shooter Manu Bhaker, chess world champion D. Gukesh, two-time Olympic medallist and men’s hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh, and Paralympic gold medal-winning high jumper Praveen Kumar were presented with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award by President Droupadi Murmu at the National Sports Awards ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday.
Harmanpreet was part of the Indian men’s hockey team that won bronze medals at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics. Praveen, who won silver at the Tokyo Olympics, upgraded his medal to gold in Paris last year.
Manu made history by becoming independent India’s first athlete to win two medals in a single Olympic edition, earning a bronze in the 10m air pistol individual event and the 10m air pistol mixed team event in August of last year.
Gukesh made headlines by becoming the youngest-ever world chess champion in December 2024, defeating China’s Ding Liren. He is only the second Indian after Viswanathan Anand to achieve this feat. Gukesh also played a key role in helping India secure the gold medal in the men’s team event at the Chess Olympiad in September.
READ | I would love to see chess being part of the Olympics: Gukesh
Thirty-two athletes were honoured with the Arjuna Award out of which 17 were para-athletes.
Among the Arjuna awardees were Paris Olympics bronze medallists—wrestler Aman Sehrawat, shooters Swapnil Kusale and Sarabjot Singh, and members of the men’s hockey team: Jarmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Sanjay, and Abhishek.
The Paralympic Games saw India return with 29 medals, including seven gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze, with para-athletes outnumbering able-bodied athletes in the Arjuna award category.
India’s first Paralympic gold medallist, Murlikant Petkar, also received the Arjuna Award (Lifetime Achievement).
The honours are determined using a point system, with the highest weight given to performances at the Olympics and World Championships.
-With inputs from PTI
