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Sports Awards

New Delhi, Aug 29 (IANS) President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Tuesday conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the country's highest sports award, on cueist Pankaj Advani and gave away Arjuna Awards to 15 others, including badminton star Aparna Popat and hockey wizard Viren Rasquinha, at a glittering ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here.

Commander Nandy Singh (hockey) was among the three people named for the Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime achievement, while Ismail Baig (rowing) was among the four winners of the Dronacharya Award for excellence in coaching.

The following is the list of awardees:

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna: Pankaj Advani (Billiards & Snooker).
Dhyan Chand Awards: Uday K. Prabhu (Athletics), Commander (retd) Nandy Singh (Hockey), Harish Chandra M. Birajdar (Wrestling).

Dronacharya Awards: Hony. Captain M. Venu (Boxing), Balwan Singh (Kabaddi), Maha Singh Rao (Wrestling), Ismail Baig (Rowing).

Arjuna Awards: Tarundeep Rai (Archery), Dola Banerjee (Archery), Manjit Kaur (Athletics), Aparna Popat (Badminton), Anuja Prakash Thakur (Billiards & Snooker), Akhil Kumar (Boxing), Surya Shekhar Ganguly (Chess), Anju Jain (Cricket), Viren Rasquinha (Hockey), Ramesh Kumar (Kabaddi), Gagan Narang (Shooting), Shikha Tandon (Swimming), Soumyadeep Roy (Table Tennis), Sushil Kumar (Wrestling), Rajinder Singh Rahelu (Physically Handicapped).

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna comprises Rs.500,000 in cash, a scroll of honour and a medal.
The Dhyanchand and Dronacharya Awards comprise Rs.300,000 in cash, a plaque and a scroll of honour.

The Arjuna Award carries Rs.300,000 in cash, a statute and a scroll of honour.
Raj Singh Dungarpur, a former president of the Indian cricket board, headed the selection committee for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the Dhyanchand Awards and the Arjuna Awards.

posted by News India @ 11:42 PM