NEW DELHI: Cricketer Rohit Sharma, wrestler Vinesh Phogat, table tennis player Manika Batra, para-high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu and women’s hockey team captain Rani Rampal will be conferred with the country’s highest sporting honour – Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna – this year, the government announced on Friday.
This will be the first time that five sportspersons will be receiving the Khel Ratna on the occasion of the National Sports Day on August 29.
Also, for the first time, a total of 27 athletes will be bestowed with the Arjuna award, including cricketers Ishant Sharma and Deepti Sharma, sprinter Dutee Chand, recurve archer Atanu Das, woman boxer Lovlina Borgohain, footballer Sandesh Jhingan, golfer Aditi Ashok, hockey player Akashdeep Singh, shooters Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary, badminton doubles pair Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, rower Dattu Bhokanal, tennis player Divij Sharan and wrestlers Divya Kakran and Rahul Aware.

The names of past Khel Ratna awardees, wrestler Sakshi Malik and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, were not considered by sports minister Kiren Rijiju for the Arjuna. The names of two were not recommended by the 12-member selection committee in the originally approved list of 27 sportspersons. The decision of bestowing the Arjuna on them was left to the discretion of the minister and Rijiju decided against it.
LIST OF WINNERS
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award: Rohit Sharma (Cricket), Mariyappan T. (Para Athletics), , Manika Batra (Table Tennis), Vinesh Phogat (Wrestling), Ritu Rani (Hockey).
Dronacharya Award:
Lifetime 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).
Regular category: Jude Felix Sebastian (Hockey), Yogesh Malviya (Mallakhamb), Jaspal Rana (Shooting), Kuldeep Kumar Handoo (Wushu), Gaurav Khanna (Para Badminton).
Arjuna Award: Atanu Das (Archery), Dutee Chand (Athletics), Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy (Badminton), Chirag Chandrasekhar Shetty (Badminton), Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (Basketball), Subedar 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 Suhas 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).
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 P Bal (Tennis), Netarpal Hooda (Wrestling).