Neeraj, Mithali, Chhetri among 12 athletes conferred Khel Ratna Award

Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra, wrestler Ravi Kumar, para shooter Avani Lekhara, Sunil Chhetri and Mithali Raj were among the 12 athletes who received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award

Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra, wrestler Ravi Kumar, para shooter Avani Lekhara, Indian football team skipper Sunil Chhetri and India women's cricket stalwart Mithali Raj were among the 12 athletes who received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award on Saturday.

The President of India Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday conferred National Sports Awards to the athletes.

Lovlina Borgohain (Boxing), Sreejesh P.R (Hockey), Sumit Antil (Para Athletics), Pramod Bhagat (Para Badminton), Manish Narwal (Para Shooting), and Manpreet Singh (Hockey) are other athletes who were confered with the prestiguous award.

Krishna Nagar (Para Badminton) was also slated to receive the Khel Ratna Award but had to miss the event after the sudden demise of his mother.

All men's Hockey India team who won the historic bronze medal in Tokyo 2020 Olympics has been awarded Arjun Award with the exceptions of PR Sreejesh and Manpreet Singh -- both awarded the Khel Ratna Award.

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of the previous four years.

The specially organised award function is being held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. National Sports Awards are given every year to recognise and reward excellence in sports.