National Sports Awards 2016
The Union government announced the National Sports Awards 2016 on 22nd August 2016. Shortly after the two female Olympians had won medals, this prize was announced. Therefore the two medal holders Sakshi and Sindhu will be awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.
The Olympics shooter Jitu Rai and the Gymnast who attempted the dangerous Produnova, Dipa
Karmakar have both been selected for the national sports awards. The National Sports Awards which are given every year are special this year because they recognize the Olympic medal holders. Therefore this event is being looked forward to by the citizens and the sports community.
So let us take a look into it. What are these sports awards about after all?
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is a prestigious award given for outstanding performance in any sports discipline for over four years. This year this award will be given to the players that have made the country proud on an international platform.
Four main sports person were chosen for this award this year and they are, Sakshi Malik for Wrestling, Dipa Karmakar for Gymnastics, Jitu Rai for Shooting and P.V Sindhu for Badminton.
The four of them are from different sports disciplines but each of them has brought glory to the country by performing well in the International platform. Hence, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awards 2016 will be given to these 4 people.
Dronacharya Award
Dronacharya was the mythical Guru of the epic Mahabharata. Therefore this award is for the coaches who were behind these successful players. Albeit, it is the coach’s hard work that goes into winning medals, therefore these coaches will be recognized for their epic work and contribution via the Dronacharya Award.
This year six sports coaches have been chosen to receive this award, among which are, Sagar Mal Dhayal for Boxing, Bishweshwar Nandi for Gymnastics, Raj Kumar Sharma for Cricket, Nagapuri Ramesh for Athletics. Apart from these four, two more people will receive the awards for their lifetime achievement in their respective sports discipline. These are Mahabir Singh for Wrestling and S Pradeep Kumar for Swimming.
Arjuna Awards
The Arjuna awards just like the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awards, is given for consistently performing well in any sports discipline for four consecutive years.
This year 15 sports person were chosen to receive this award among which were Sourav Kothari for Billiard & Snooker, Rani for Hockey, Apurvi Chandela for Shooting, Rajat Chauhan for Archery, Shiva Thapa for Boxing, Lalita Babar for Athletics, Gurpreet Singh for Shooting, Vinay for wrestling, Soumyajit Ghosh for Table Tennis, Virendra Singh for Wrestling (Deaf), Sandeep Singh Mann for Para-athletics. These are only a handful of them who were selected for receiving the prestigious Arjuna Awards.
Dhyan Chand Award
The Dhyan Chand Award is yet another prestigious award that is given to the people in the sports field. This ward is specifically given to those that have made a life time contribution in the field of sports.
This year Athlete Satti Geetha, Rower Rajendra Prahlad Shelke and the hockey player Sylvanus Dung Dung have been nominated to receive this award.
Rashtriya Khel Protsahana Puraskar
As the name itself suggests, this award is given to encourage the Indian sports persons to take up and continue to shine in the sports domain. This is why this award is given to the organizations that have contributed to this cause. In this year, seven organizations were chosen to receive this award to make a positive impact in the sports arena and to make India more conducive to sports and games.
This award is given to anyone who has made a visible contribution for the improvement of spots. This is why it is given to ither the corporate entities or individuals. This year the Reserve Bank of India, Subroto Mukherjee Sports Education Society and India Infra Structure Finance Corporation Limited have been nominated to receive this.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy
This is a trophy that is given by the Punjabi University, Patiala. After the inter university tournaments are held, this trophy is handed over to the top overall performing college.
About the Awards
Here are a few things about this trophy that you must note:
- The selection committee for the Dhyan Chand Awards and the Dronacharya Awards was headed by MC Mary Kom, while SK Agarwal, the retired High Court Judge headed the selection committee for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and the Arjuna Award.
- The player or players who will get the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award will receive a citation as well as 7.5 lakh rupees. One of the nominated members will win this.
- The players who will be awarded the Arjuna Awards and the Dhyan Chand Awards will receive a cash prize of 5 lakh rupees each besides the certificates and the statuettes.
- For the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar which will be awarded mainly to the corporate and individuals, the awards will be given as trophies and certificates.
So let us take a look at the things we learned and the things we missed:
| Sl. No. | Info | Data |
| 1 | Award Presented on | 29th August 2016 |
| 2 | National Sports Day | 29th August 2016 |
| 3 | Awards presented by | President Pranab Mukherjee |
| 4 | Award Ceremony in | Rashtrapati Bhawan |
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