Manu Bhaker, D Gukesh Among Four Athletes Awarded Khel Ratna; 34 Honored with Arjuna Award

In a grand ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, President Droupadi Murmu conferred the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award on four outstanding Indian athletes, recognizing their remarkable contributions to sports. Among the awardees were:
Manu Bhaker (Shooting):
Won two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics—one in the women's 10m air pistol event and another in the mixed 10m air pistol event.
D Gukesh (Chess):
World Chess Championship crowned at just 18 years by beating China's Grandmaster Ding Liren while winning the Youngest player for such a big record.
HARMANPREET SINGH (FIELD HOCKEY):
Captain, India men hockey who won an Olympic bronze from the 2024 Paris games in addition to winning another Olympic Bronze for India after his first, he won when representing India men's hockey team won Bronze in Olympics.
President Droupadi Murmu confers Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, 2024 on Ms. Manu Bhaker in recognition of her outstanding achievements in Shooting. Her achievements are:
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) January 17, 2025
• Bronze medal in Olympic Games (Women's 10m air pistol) held in Paris, France in 2024.
•… pic.twitter.com/Y4tCLWw5pI
Praveen Kumar(PA High Jumper):
Won a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, while earlier it won a silver at the Tokyo Paralympics. Praveen was born with one of his legs one inch shorter than the other and yet has earned such laurels.
Arjuna Awards Given to 34 Athletes
In addition to the Khel Ratna, 34 other sportspersons were chosen for the Arjuna Award for their continuous performances at the national and international levels. Jyothi Yarraji and Annu Rani of Athletics, Nitu and Sweety of Boxing, Vantika Agrawal of Chess, Indian hockey men's team, and some para-athletes like Rakesh Kumar of Para-Archery and Mona Agarwal of Para Shooting were selected.
Five coaches were awarded with the Dronacharya Award.
The event also honored the contributions of coaches who have guided and developed the careers of many athletes as the Dronacharya Award was given to five awardees:
Subhash Rana (Para Shooting) – Regular Category
Deepali Deshpande (Shooting) – Regular Category
Sandeep Sangwan (Hockey) – Regular Category
S Murulidharan (Badminton) – Lifetime Category
Armando Agnelo Colaco (Football) – Lifetime Category
These accolades show the growing sports power of India in various sporting disciplines, hence, a talent nurturing and promoting excellence in each sporting arena.