India’s Olympic stars get highest sporting honour

NEW DELHI: For the first time, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna will be awarded to four athletes this year. Rio Olympic medallists PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik will be

NEW DELHI: For the first time, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna will be awarded to four athletes this year. Rio Olympic medallists PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik will be conferred the award along with Jitu Rai and Dipa Karmakar.

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The 12-member committee, headed by Justice (retd) SK Aggarwal, recommended Jitu and Dipa for the highest sporting award on August 17, but left a window open for prospective medal winners in Rio to be included in the list.

Subsequently, wrestler Sakshi won India’s first medal in Rio, a bronze in women’s 58kg category, and Sindhu bettered it with silver in badminton after the loss to world No 1 Carolina Marin. The sports ministry cleared their names on Monday.

Dipa’s name was entered suo motu by the ministry after her performance in Rio, where she became the first Indian gymnast to qualify for the medal stage in vault. Jitu was nominated as he had the highest weightage among the applicants.

DRONACHARYA FOR NANDI, PHOGAT

Meanwhile, Dipa’s coach Bishweshwar Nandi has been nominated for the Dronacharya Award. Test captain Virat Kohli’s coach, Raj Kumar Sharma, and Nagapuri Ramesh, who mentored Dutee Chand, too figure in the list of awardees.

Mahabir Singh Phogat, who coached his daughters Geeta and Babita to international fame and kick-started a revolution in women’s wrestling, will be conferred the Dronacharya in the lifetime category.