Chennai: Para-athlete Mariyappan Thangavelu from Tamilnadu, cricketer Rohit Sharma, wrestler Vinesh Phogat, women’s hockey team captain Rani Rampal, and paddler Manika Batra – were today conferred with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, the country’s highest honour for sportspersons.
The award winners were connected to President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan from nine different Sports Authority of India-designated locations.
Rohit Sharma, who is in the UAE for IPL 2020, could not attend the virtual ceremony as the process only allowed the ones currently in the country to take part.
‘I am very excited and happy to be awarded the Khel Ratna. I thank the sports minister Kiren Rijiju and Hockey India for recommending my name. It is a huge honour for a women hockey player,’ said Rani Rampal, who became the first women hockey player to receive the nation’s highest sporting honour Mariyappan said, ‘It is one of the biggest achievements of my career.
The Khel Ratna award will definitely act as a motivation for in my pursuit for gold at the 2021 Paralympics.’