Hockey India recommends Rani Rampal for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award

Hockey India on Tuesday nominated national women's team captain Rani Rampal for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award while Vandana Kataria, Monika and Harmanpreet Singh were recommended for the Arjuna Award.

For the Major Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement, the federation has recommended former India stalwarts R P Singh and Tushar Khandker.

Coaches B J Kariappa and Romesh Pathania have been nominated for the Dronacharya Award.

The period of consideration for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, India's highest sporting honour, is between January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2019.

During this period, Rani led the team to historic victories in the Women's Asia Cup in 2017, silver at the 2018 Asian Games and played a critical role in the FIH Olympic Qualifiers in 2019 by scoring the deciding goal that helped India qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.

What is Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award?

The Khel Ratna award, officially known as Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in Sports and Games, is the highest sporting honour in India. The award is named after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Khel Ratna is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The recipient(s) is/are selected by a committee constituted by the Ministry. The athlete(s) is/are honoured for their spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports over a period of four years at international level.

The team also climbed to a career-best ninth the FIH world rankings.

Rani, who is the first Indian to be named as the World Games Athlete of The Year, has also been the recipient of the Arjuna Award (2016) and Padma Shri (2020).

India striker Vandana, with over 200 international caps, and Monika, with more than 150 national appearances, have been recommended for the Arjuna Award.
 

They both played key roles in the team's sensational wins in 2019 including the FIH Series Finals in Hiroshima, Tokyo 2020 Olympics Test Event and the Olympic Qualifiers in Bhubaneswar.

The Indian men's team dragflick specialist, Harmanpreet Singh, is also in the short-list for the Arjuna nominees. He was instrumental in the team's winning performance in the FIH Series Finals in Odisha.

At the 2020 Olympics Test Event, he captained the team to victory in the absence of Manpreet Singh who was rested for the tournament.

Harmanpreet was also a part of the Indian team that won the Olympic Qualifiers against Russia last year.

Former India stars Dr RP Singh and Khandker's continued contribution in the field of hockey has led to their recommendation for the Major Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Kariappa, who has been nominated for the Dronacharya Award, has coached the Indian junior men's team to a silver at the Sultan of Johor Cup in 2019.

Speaking on the recommendations for the National Awards, Hockey India President Mohd Mustaque Ahmad said: "Sardar Singh was the last hockey player to win the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.

"Rani has set new benchmarks in women's hockey and we feel she is very deserving of the top award."

A panel formed by the Sports Ministry will shortlist the nominations received from various national federations with the awards to be presented on National Sports Day, August 29.

List of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award winner

Year	Name Of The Awardee	Discipline
2019	Bajrang Punia	Wrestling
	Deepa Malik	Paralympic

2018	Mirabai Chanu	Weightlifting
	Virat Kohli	Cricket
2017	Sardar Singh	Hockey
	Devendra	Para – Athletic
2016	P.V. Sindhu	Badminton
	Dipa Karmakar	Gymnastics
	Jitu Rai	Shooting
	Sakshi Malik	Wrestling
2015	Sania Mirza	Tennis
2013	Ronjan Sodhi	Shooting
2012	Vijay Kumar	Shooting
	Yogeshwar Dutt	Wrestling
2011	Gagan Narang	Shooting
2010	Saina Nehwal	Badminton
2009	Mary Kom	Boxing
	Vijender Singh
	Sushil Kumar	Wrestling
2007	MS Dhoni	Cricket
2006	Manavjit Singh Sandhu	Shooting
2005	Pankaj Advani	Billiards & Snooker
2004	Lt. Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore	Shooting
2003	Anju Bobby George	Athletics
2002	K M Beenamol	Athletics
	Anjali R.Bhagwat	Shooting
2001	Abhinav Bindra	Shooting
2000-2001	Pullela Gopichand	Badminton
1999-2000	Dhanraj Pillay	Hockey
1998-1999	Jyotirmoyee Sikdar	Athletics
1997-1998	Sachin Tendulkar	Cricket
1996-1997	Leander Paes	Tennis
1995-1996	N Kunjurani	Weightlifting
1994-1995	K Malleshwari	Weightlifting
1992-1994	Cdr. Homi D. Motivala	Yachting
	Cdr. P.K. Garg	Yachting
1991-1992	Vishwanath Anand	Chess
	Geet Sethi	Billiards