Manu, Gukesh among 4 Khel Ratnas; 17 para-athletes to receive Arjuna

Awards will be presented by President on January 17

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The Sports Ministry announced its prestigious national awards for 2024, with shooter Manu Bhaker and chess prodigy D Gukesh among four recipients of the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, while an unprecedented 17 para-athletes were named in the Arjuna awards list of 32 honourees.

Hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh and para-athlete Praveen Kumar join Bhaker and Gukesh as Khel Ratna winners. The awards will be presented by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 17.

The 22-year-old Bhaker became independent India's first athlete to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics with her bronze-winning show in the 10m air pistol individual and 10m air pistol mixed team events in August.

The announcement comes a few days after reports that Bhaker had been ignored for the Khel Ratna as the award selection committee did not recommend her due to the absence of an application from her.

The shooter later admitted that there may have been a lapse on her part while filing the nomination. Once the procedural issues were sorted, there was never any doubt that Bhaker would be among the awardees.