Manu Bhaker, D Gukesh, Harmanpreet Singh, Praveen Kumar to receive Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna awards - Complete list

Manu Bhaker, D Gukesh, Harmanpreet Singh, and Praveen Kumar have been nominated to receive the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) confirmed on Thursday. 

While Bhaker is a double medallist at the Paris Olympics, Gukesh became the youngest world chess champion at 18 last month. Harmanpreet Singh led the Indian men's hockey team to their second-consecutive bronze medal at the Paris Olympics 2024, while Praveen grabbed the men’s high jump gold at the Paralympics with a record-breaking jump of 2.08 meters.

The sports ministry also named 32 athletes, including 17 para-athletes, for Arjuna Awards. All the awardees will receive their respective awards from the President of India at a specially organised function at Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 17 (Friday) at 11 am.

With two bronze medals (10 m air pistol and 10m air pistol mixed team), the 22-year-old Bhaker became the first Indian to win two medals at a single Olympics post-independence. She became the first Indian woman shooter to win an Olympic medal.

Her mixed team partner Sarabjot Singh is among those nominated for the Arjuna Awards. The announcement comes in after TOI reported that Bhaker wasn't among the nominated for Khel Ratna. While the sports ministry said that they didn't receive Bhaker's application, the shooter's family responded that an application was indeed made.

In the same Paris Olympics, Hamranpreet led the Indian hockey team to its second consecutive bronze medal. Having won a bronze medal in Tokyo three years back, Harmanpreet's men fought like warriors as they defeated Spain to grab the third place. It was also a perfect farewell for PR Sreejesh, who announced his retirement from the game.

For Gukesh, it was the realisation of a dream he had envisioned six years back. In a 14-game thrilling contest in Singapore, the Tamil Nadu youngster dethroned Chinese Liren for the top honours. In that process, Gukesh became the second Indian and 18th overall world chess champion.

The sports ministry also recognised Sucha Singh (Athletics) and Murlikant Rajaram Petkar (Para-Swimming) for the Arjuna Awards (lifetime) for their contributions to sports.

Among the Dronacharya awardees are Subhash Rana (Para-Shooting), Deepali Deshpande (Shooting), Sandeep Sangwan (Hockey) in the regular category, Muralidharan (Badminton), and Armando Agnelo Colaco (Football) in the lifetime category.

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Awards 2024

Complete list of Arjuna Awardees for 2024