Para-Athletes Grab Spotlight At The National Sports Awards 2024

New Delhi: Thirty-two athletes were honoured with the Arjuna Award out of which an unprecedented 17 were para-athletes. The para-athletes outnumbered the others in the list this time due to the magnificent Paris Paralympics performance in which they returned with 29 medals, including seven gold and nine silver.

President Droupadi Murmu honoured the para-athletes for their outstanding performance in the field of sports.

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One of the most heartwarming s of the ceremony was when India’s first Paralympic gold-medallist Murlikant Petkar walked up to the President on crutches to receive the Arjuna award (lifetime).

The 80-year-old war hero, who was disabled waist down due to bullet wounds sustained during the 1965 battle against Pakistan, was originally a boxer but turned to para-swimming. He persevered to win a historic gold medal in the 1972 Paralympics in Heidelberg.

The veteran was welcomed with a rapturous applause that did not stop till he was seated back after collecting the award from the President.

The Arjuna Awards are given to sportspersons who have demonstrated good performance over the past four years and have shown qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, and discipline.

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Para-Athlete Praveen Kumar was honoured Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award for his performance achievements in Para-Athletics. 

The Arjuna awards were bestowed upon Rakesh Kumar (Para-Archery), Preeti Pal (Para-Athletics), Jeevanji Deepthi (Para-Athletics), Ajeet Singh (Para-Athletics), Sachin Sarjerao Khilari (Para-Athletics), Dharambir (Para-Athletics), Pranav Soorma (Para-Athletics), H Hokato Sema (Para-Athletics), Simran (Para-Athletics), Navdeep (Para-Athletics), Nitesh Kumar (Para-Badminton), Thulasimathi Murugesan (Para-Badminton), Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan (Para-Badminton), Manisha Ramadass (Para-Badminton), Kapil Parmar (Para-Judo), Mona Agarwal (Para-Shooting), and Rubina Francis (Para-Shooting), among others.

Dronacharya Award was felicitated to Subhash Rana (Para-Shooting), among other sportspersons.

Dignitaries, including sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya, parliamentary and minority affairs minister Kiren Rijuju, sports secretary Sujata Chaturvedi, were among those who attended the ceremony that lasted a little over an hour.

While the Khel Ratna comes with a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh, the Arjuna and Dronacharya awards include a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh.

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