Sports Minister on Thursday, accounted that Manu Bhaker, D Gukesh, Harmanpreet Singh and Praveen Kumar will receive Dhyan Chand Khel Award.
The Award will present to athletes by President of India, Droupadi Murmu at a special organized function at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on January 17, 2025.
“Based on the recommendations of the Committee and after due scrutiny, the Government has decided to confer awards upon the following sportspersons, coaches, universities, and entities,” the ministry said in a statement.
The sports minister also announced list of athlete’s names who will be given the Khel Ratna, Arjuna and Dhronacharya awards on January 17, 2025. Four athletes will receive the Khel Ratna Award, 32 will get the Arjuna Award. Three coaches will honored with the Dronacharya Award.
Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award
The Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, is the highest sporting honor in India. It previously known as the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. The award is name after the greatest hockey player Major Dhyan Chand. The award recognizes outstanding performance in sports and games over a period of four years. It honors athletes who have brought glory to India through their exceptional contributions to sports.
Manu Bhaker
Manu Bhaker is an Indian Shooter, who won two bronze medals at 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. She won first bronze medal in the women’s 10 metre air pistol and another she won in the mixed 10 metre air pistol. At the 2022 Asian Games, Bhaker won team gold for India in the women’s 25 m pistol event, along with Esha Singh and Rhythm Sangwan.
D Gukesh
Dommaraju Gukesh, the Indian chess grandmaster. He won the 2024 World Chess Championship which was held in November-December 2024. At just 7 years old, Gukesh started playing chess and quickly made a name for himself in the game. In 2018, he won the under-12 title at the World Youth Chess Championship. And also earned multiple gold medals at the Asian Youth Chess Championship. By March 2017, he had already achieved the title of International Master. On January 15, 2019, at the age of 12 years, 7 months and 17 days, Gukesh became the second-youngest grandmaster in history, after Sergey Karjakin. He was also a key member of the Indian team that secured a silver medal in the men’s team competition at the 2022 Asian Games.
Harmanpreet Singh
Harmanpreet Singh is an Indian field hockey player and captain of the national team. He plays as a defender, is a penalty corner expert, and is considered one of the world’s best drag flickers. Singh holds the record for the most international goals by an Indian in modern hockey. He led India to win a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, his second bronze in three Olympic appearances. In 2022, he captained the team to a gold medal at the Asian Games.
Praveen Kumar
Praveen Kumar is an para-athlete, who won Gold at 2024 Paris Paralympics and won Silver at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. He crowned the T64 champion in the Paris Paralympics.
