Journey of awardees doesn't end here, there is more to be achieved, says Anurag Thakur

Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur congratulated all the awardees of the National Sports Awards 2020 and said that the country should continue looking for talented athletes who can win medals for India in future.

The Sports Ministry on Monday physically handed over trophies to all the winners of last year's National Sports Awards during a function at Delhi's Ashoka Hotel.

The event was graced by Union Minister Anurag Thakur along with Secretary Sports Sujata Chaturvedi, Secretary of Youth Affairs Usha Sharma and other top ministry and SAI officials.

All the winners of the National Sports Awards 2020 had already received the cash awards but were not able to collect their trophies and citation during last year's event when the Sports Awards ceremony was held virtually owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Addressing the awardees, Anurag Thakur said, "The National Sports Awards is a prestigious award that is won by athletes after years of dedication and hard work. Congratulations to all the awardees and the very best for their future events. The journey of the awardees doesn't end here, there is more to be achieved."

"We must also continue to look for talented athletes, groom them and make them capable of winning medals at the International level. So I request all the athletes to take the pledge of at least grooming and training five such athletes who can win medals for India in the future," he added.

On August 29, 2020, the Sports Ministry handed over a total of 74 National Sports Awards, including five Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratnas and 27 Arjuna Awards.

Monday's ceremony was attended by many awardees, including Rani Rampal, Vinesh Phogat and Mariyappan Thangavelu, who received the prestigious Khel Ratna Award, and Lovlina Borgohain, Ishant Sharma, Atanu Das, Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Chandrasekhar Shetty, among others who received the Arjuna Award.

The list of National Sports Awardees for the year 2020 were:

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award: Rohit Sharma (Cricket), Mariyappan Thangavelu (Para-Athletics), Manika Batra (Table Tennis), Vinesh Phogat (Wrestling), Rani Rampal (Hockey).

Arjuna Award: Atanu Das (Archery), Dutee Chand (Athletics), Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy (Badminton), Chirag Chandrasekhar Shetty (Badminton), Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (Basketball), Manish Kaushik (Boxing), Lovlina Borgohain (Boxing), Ishant Sharma (Cricket), Deepti Sharma (Cricket), Sawant Ajay Anant (Equestrian), Sandesh Jhingan (Football), Aditi Ashok (Golf), Akashdeep Singh (Hockey), Deepika (Hockey), Deepak (Kabaddi), Kale Sarika Sudhakar (Kho Kho), Dattu Baban Bhokanal (Rowing), Manu Bhaker (Shooting), Saurabh Chaudhary (Shooting), Madhurika Patkar (Table Tennis), Divij Sharan (Tennis), Shiva Keshavan (Winter Sports), Divya Kakran (Wrestling), Rahul Aware (Wrestling), Suyash Narayan Jadhav (Para-Swimming), Sandeep (Para-Athletics), Manish Narwal (Para Shooting).

Dronacharya Award (Life-Time Category): Dharmendra Tiwary (Archery), Purushotham Rai (Athletics), Shiv Singh (Boxing), Romesh Pathania (Hockey), Krishan Kumar Hooda (Kabaddi), Vijay Bhalchandra Munishwar (Para Powerlifting), Naresh Kumar (Tennis), Om Parkash Dahiya (Wrestling).

Dronacharya (Regular Category): Jude Felix (Hockey), Yogesh Malviya (Mallakhamb), Jaspal Rana (Shooting), Kuldeep Kumar Handoo (Wushu), Gaurav Khanna (Para Badminton).

Dhyan Chand Award: Kuldip Singh Bhullar (Athletics), Jincy Philips (Athletics), Pradeep Shrikrishna Gandhe (Badminton), Trupti Murgunde (Badminton), N Usha(Boxing), Lakha Singh (Boxing), Sukhvinder Singh Sandhu (Football), Ajit Singh (Hockey), Manpreet Singh (Kabaddi), J Ranjith Kumar (Para-Athletics), Satyaprakash Tiwari (Para Badminton), Manjeet Singh (Rowing), Late Shri Sachin Nag (Swimming), Nandan Bal (Tennis), Netarpal Hooda (Wrestling).

Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards: Anita Devi (Land Adventure), Col Sarfraz Singh (Land Adventure), Taka Tamut (Land Adventure), Keval Hiren Kakka (Land Adventure), Satendra Singh (Water Adventure), Gajanand Yadava (Air Adventure), Late Magan Bissa (Life Time Achievement).

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy: Panjab University, Chandigarh.

Identification and Nurturing of Budding and Young Talent: Lakshya Institute, Army Sports Institute.

Encouragement to sports through Corporate Social Responsibility: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Ltd.

Employment of sportspersons and sports welfare measures: Air Force Sports Control Board.

Sports for Development: International Institute of Sports Management (IISM).

( With inputs from ANI )