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Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2022: Winners List, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award

By Balaji

Updated on: February 17th, 2023

The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, previously called the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in Sports and Games, is India’s highest athletic honour. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports grants it annually to honour and reward outstanding athletic achievement. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award was recently presented to 12 athletes in recognition of their extraordinary and most impressive athletic achievements over the course of the past four years.

At a ceremony held on November 13, 2021, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan’s Darbar Hall, the President of India honoured notable athletes (Olympians and Paralympians) from various sports categories with this award. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award consists of a cash prize of Rs. 25 lakhs, a medal, and a certificate. Learn everything you need to know about the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award here, along with the winners’ list, eligibility, nominations, etc.

Table of content

(more)
  • 1. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award (more)
  • 2. Eligibility for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award (more)
  • 3. Objectives of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award (more)
  • 4. Selection Process for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award (more)
  • 5. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award Nominations (more)
  • 6. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2022 Winners List (more)

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in Sports and Games is officially known as the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. It is India’s highest sporting honour. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports confers it annually. The honoree(s) is/are recognized for their spectacular and most exceptional accomplishment in the sphere of the sport over a time period of 4 years internationally by a committee appointed by the Ministry. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award will consist of a certificate, a medallion, and a cash payment of Rs. 25 lakhs as of 2020.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2022 Winners List PDF

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, which was established in 1991–1992, was granted for a sportsperson’s performance over a year. The Ministry amended the standards in February 2015 to take achievements over 4 years into account based on the recommendations made by the Khel Ratna award selection committee in 2014. Nominations for a particular year are taken until April 30, or the final business day of April, with a maximum of two athletes per athletic discipline.

The performances of a sportsperson at numerous international competitions, such as the Paralympic Games, Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and Asian Games, are evaluated by a 12-member committee. Later, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award committee presents its suggestions for final approval to the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports. The honour, which was given from 1991 to 2021, bore Rajiv Gandhi’s name, a former Indian Prime Minister.

Since August 6, 2021, the prize has been titled in honour of Major Dhyan Chand (1905–79), an Indian hockey player who is recognized as one of the game’s all-time greats and amassed more than 1,000 goals during a career that lasted more than 20 years from 1926 to 1948.

Chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand was the first winner of the honour, recognized for his efforts in 1991–1992. Shooter Abhinav Bindra, who was 18 at the time, received the honour in 2001. There have been a few exceptions to the rule that only one sportsperson can receive the prize each year (1993-1994, 2002, 2009, 2012, and 2016-2021).

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award winners list includes the names of the outstanding players from the following fifteen sports as of 2021: Athletics, Billiards, Badminton, Boxing, Cricket, Chess, Gymnastics, Field hockey, Para Athletics, Para Shooting, Para-Badminton, Snooker, Shooting, Tennis, Table Tennis, Weightlifting, Wrestling, and Yacht racing. There have also been 57 recipients from the Paralympics in each of these sports.

Eligibility for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

The eligibility criteria for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award have been listed below;

  • Incredible performance throughout the course of the last four years in international competitions that are similar to the Olympics, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Games, Championships, and World Cup.
  • The accomplishments of the athletes in these events and other competitions up until the end of the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, or Asian Games may be taken into consideration during the years when these competitions are held.
  • The sportspersons against whom the inquiry is ongoing/pending for the use of banned substances and drugs are not eligible to be part of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award winners list.

Objectives of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is one of the biggest sporting awards in the country. It was introduced for the following reasons:

  • The award’s purpose is to honour the athlete who has put on the most stunning and excellent performance in their sport.
  • Consideration is given to the achievements over the 4 years prior to the year the prize is to be granted.
  • Achievements of athletes up until the completion of the Olympic, Commonwealth, and Asian Games are also taken into consideration during the years in which these events are contested.

Learn about the other sports awards of India here.

Selection Process for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

All nominations for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award are forwarded to the National Anti-Doping Agency and SAI, who will check them against the purported accomplishments and doping certification, respectively. Any athlete who is being fined or under investigation for using drugs or compounds that have been prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency is ineligible for the Khel Ratna award prize.

  • The nominations are verified and validated by a committee made up of the Joint Secretary, the Secretary, the Director/Deputy Secretary of the Department of Sports, and the Executive Director/Director (TEAMS) of SAI.
  • The government-appointed selection committee for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is presented with legitimate nominations. This 12-member committee is made up of a Chairperson chosen by the Ministry, three sports journalists, experts, and commentators, four Olympians or previous Khel Ratna or Arjuna Award winners, one parasports-related athlete, expert or administrator, one sports manager, the Director General of SAI, and the Joint Secretary of the Department of Sports.
  • The committee may not have more than one athlete from a single discipline. The award was granted for a sportsperson’s performance during 12 months when it was first established in 1991-1992.
  • The Ministry updated the parameters for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award winners in February 2015 to take performance over a 4 year period into consideration based on the recommendations made by the 2014 award selection committee, which was led by Kapil Dev.
  • Medals gained at international competitions, including the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games, and the Winter and Summer Paralympic and Olympic Games, are given 80% of the value.
  • The nature and level of the events are given the remainder of 20% of the value. The achievement of a sportsperson is taken into account for any other sports like cricket or indigenous games that are not part of the Olympic, Asian, or Commonwealth Games. The athlete who earns the most points receives 80 points.
  • The remaining athletes receive grades based on their maximum point total. For team competitions, points are awarded based on the team’s strength.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award Nominations

The procedure for the nominations for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is as follows:

  • The Sports Authority of India (SAI), the Indian Olympic Association, the Sports Promotion and Control Boards, the state and UTs governments, and all government-recognized national sports federations submit nominees for the Major Dhyan Chand award, with a maximum of two qualified athletes per sports discipline.
  • In the context of cricket, the nominations come from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and SAI is empowered to make the nominations on account of all the National Sports Federations that have been suspended or denied recognition.
  • The past prize winners of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award may also suggest one athlete for the sport for which they were recognized. In meritorious situations in which no recommendations have been submitted from the nominating agencies, the Government may nominate up to two athletes.
  • The deadline for submissions for a given year is April 30, which is the last working day of April.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2022 Winners List

Check the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award winners list of the last few years, starting from 1991, below. It will be updated when the new list is released for the current year.

Name of the Sportsperson

Discipline

Neeraj Chopra

Athletics

Ravi Kumar

Wrestling

Sreejesh P.R

Hockey

Lovlina Borgohain

Boxing

Avani Lekhara

Para Shooting

Pramod Bhagat

Para Badminton

Sumit Antil

Para Athletics

Manish Narwal

Para Shooting

Krishna Nagar

Para Badminton

Mithali Raj

Cricket

Manpreet Singh

Hockey

Sunil Chhetri

Football

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award Winners List (1992-2020)

List of Khel Ratna Award Winners

Name

Sport

Years

Viswanathan Anand

Chess

1991–1992

Geet Sethi

Billiards

1992–1993

Homi Motivala

Yachting (Team event)

1993–1994

Pushpendra Kumar Garg

Yachting (Team event)

Karnam Malleswari

Weightlifting

1994–1995

Nameirakpam Kunjarani

Weightlifting

1995–1996

Leander Paes

Tennis

1996–1997

Sachin Tendulkar

Cricket

1997–1998

Jyotirmoyee Sikdar

Athletics

1998–1999

Dhanraj Pillay

Hockey

1999–2000

Pullela Gopichand

Badminton

2000–2001

Abhinav Bindra

Shooting

2001

K. M. Beenamol

Athletics

2002

Anjali Bhagwat

Shooting

Anju Bobby George

Athletics

2003

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

Shooting

2004

Pankaj Advani

Billiards and Snooker

2005

Manavjit Singh Sandhu

Shooting

2006

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Cricket

2007

No award

2008

Mary Kom

Boxing

2009

Vijender Singh

Boxing

Sushil Kumar

Freestyle wrestling

Saina Nehwal

Badminton

2010

Gagan Narang

Shooting

2011

Vijay Kumar

Shooting

2012

Yogeshwar Dutt

Freestyle wrestling

Ronjan Sodhi

Shooting

2013

No award

2014

Sania Mirza

Tennis

2015

P. V. Sindhu

Badminton

2016

Dipa Karmakar

Gymnastics

Jitu Rai

Shooting

Sakshi Malik

Freestyle wrestling

Devendra Jhajharia

Paralympic javelin

2017

Sardara Singh

Hockey

Saikhom Mirabai Chanu

Weightlifting

2018

Virat Kohli

Cricket

Deepa Malik

Paralympic (shot put, javelin, others)

2019

Bajrang Punia

Freestyle wrestling

Rohit Sharma

Cricket

2020

Mariyappan Thangavelu

Paralympic high jump

Manika Batra

Table tennis

Vinesh Phogat

Freestyle wrestling

Rani Rampal

Hockey

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