National Sports Day: All sportspersons who received the Khel Ratna Award

August 29, popularly known as National Sports Day in India marks the birth anniversary of Indian hockey’s goal machine Major Dhyan Chand. In a career spanning 22 years from 1926 to 1948, he scored a total of 400 goals, making an impact on international hockey. This day is commemorated to celebrate India’s top athletes who have left a mark on Indian sporting history and sports culture by awarding them with the highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.

Beginning in 1991, the Khel Ratna award is a civilian award that ensures a medallion, a certificate and a monetary prize of Rs. 7.5 lakhs for a sportsperson’s contributions. So far, there are 38 Khel Ratna awardees. Listed below are all the athletes who are recipients of the prestigious award.

Viswanathan Anand - Chess

Viswanathan Anand

Geet Sethi - Billiards

Geet Sethi

Homi Motivala - Yatching

Homi Motivala

Pushpendra Kumar Garg - Yatching

Pushpendra Kumar Garg

Karnam Malleswari - Weightlifting

Karnam Malleswari

Kunjarani Devi - Weightlifting

Kunjarani Devi

Leander Paes - Tennis

Leander Paes

Sachin Tendulkar - Cricket

Sachin Tendulkar

Jyotirmoyee Sikdar - Athletics

Jyotirmoyee Sikdar

Dhanraj Pillay - Hockey

Dhanraj Pillay

Pullela Gopichand - Badminton

Pullela Gopichand

Abhinav Bindra - Shooting

Abhinav Bindra

K. M. Beenamol - Athletics

K. M. Beenamol

Anjali Bhagwat - Shooting

Anjali Bhagwat

Anju Bobby George - Athletics

Anju Bobby George

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore - Shooting

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

Pankaj Advani - Billiards and Snooker

Pankaj Advani

Manavjit Singh Sandhu - Shooting

Manavjit Singh Sandhu

Mahendra Singh Dhoni - Cricket

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Mary Kom - Boxing

Mary Kom

Vijender Singh - Boxing

Vijender Singh

Sushil Kumar - Wrestling

Sushil Kumar

Saina Nehwal - Badminton

Saina Nehwal

Gagan Narang - Shooting

Gagan Narang

Vijay Kumar - Shooting

Vijay Kumar

Yogeshwar Dutt - Wrestling

Yogeshwar Dutt

Ronjan Sodhi - Shooting

Ronjan Sodhi

Sania Mirza - Tennis

Sania Mirza

Devendra Jhajharia - Para athletics

Devendra Jhajharia

Sardar Singh - Hockey

Sardar Singh

Saikhom Mirabai Chanu - Weightlifting

Saikhom Mirabai Chanu

P. V. Sindhu - Badminton

P. V. Sindhu

Dipa Karmakar - Gymnastics

Dipa Karmakar

Jitu Rai - Shooting

Jitu Rai

Sakshi Malik - Wrestling

Sakshi Malik

Virat Kohli - Cricket

Virat Kohli

Deepa Malik - Para athletics

Deepa Malik

Bajrang Punia - Wrestling

Bajrang Punia

Athletes have been nominated for the Khel Ratna award in 2020 which is yet to be announced. Prominent names in Indian sports such as Rani Rampal, Neeraj Chopra, Rohit Sharma and more have been nominated for the prestigious award.

Also read: States that won most Olympic medals for India

Also read: Know your Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award nominees for 2020