Indian women’s hockey team skipper Rani Rampal, who has been conferred with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, on Saturday arrived at Bengaluru’s Sports Authority of India wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kit as a precautionary measure to combat COVID-19. Rani, Mariyappan T (Para-Athletics), and Manika Batra (Table Tennis) are among the five athletes, who were conferred with Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.

“She is Rani Rampal, Captain of Indian Women’s Hockey Team. She is all ready with health safety measures to receive Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award virtually from the Hon’ble President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind ji today. #NationalSportsDay,” Union Sports Minister Rijiju tweeted.

She is Rani Rampal, Captain of Indian Women’s Hockey Team. She is all ready with health safety measures to receive Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award virtually from the Hon’ble President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind ji today at 11am.#NationalSportsDay pic.twitter.com/wSvckHYF0N

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) August 29, 2020

An unprecedented 74 athletes and coaches were selected for this year’s national sports honours. Of which, 60 awardees attended the National Sports and Adventure Awards 2020 via a virtual event on Saturday, August 29.

Some of the notable names missing from the awards ceremony were wrestler Vinesh Phogat and cricketers Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma. 

While the two cricketers missed the ceremony due to their commitments with their respective IPL franchises, Vinesh Phogat decided to skip the event after she tested positive for COVID-19. 

All health and safety protocols, in keeping with the guidelines of the Health Ministry, were followed at all the venues where dignitaries and awardees were present.

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The awardees attended the ceremony from various places across the country – Bengaluru, Pune, Sonepat, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Lucknow, Delhi, Mumbai, Bhopal, Hyderabad, and Itanagar.

Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju, President of the Indian Olympic Association Narendra Dhruv Batra, and several other dignitaries have attended the ceremony from Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi.