Para-athletes were brought in as before; Sajjan Singh, Devinder Singh Garcha received loud applause
Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra led the star cast at the National Sports Awards presentation ceremony, but para-athletes stole the show at the Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan on Saturday.
Neeraj was among the 12 recipients of the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award from President Shri Ram Nath Kovind. The award consists of a medal, a certificate and ₹25 lakh.
Every time a para-athlete’s name was announced, a large crowd, including Sports Minister Anurag Thakur, used to shout loudly.
Khel Ratna recipient Krishna Nagar, who won gold medal in para badminton at the Tokyo Paralympics this year, could not attend the ceremony. On getting the news of his mother’s death on Friday night, he returned home.
The loudest cheers were reserved for Sajjan Singh (wrestling) and Davinder Singh Garcha, members of the 1980 Olympic hockey gold winning team, when their names were announced to receive the Dhyan Chand Award.
Every year the winners are honored with Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award, Dronacharya Award, Dhyan Chand Award, Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy in this ceremony.
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