Sardar Singh and Devendra Jhajharia have been recommended for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awards.
Former India Hockey captain Sardar Singh and Paralympian javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia have been selected to be awarded the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awards. The awards selection committee has recommended both Jhajharia and Sardar to be considered for the award jointly.
With this, the 36-year old Jhajharia becomes the first Paralympian to be recommended for the country’s highest sporting honour. Jhajharia is also the first Indian to have won two Paralympic gold medals in the javelin throw event.
Sardar, who is probably the most known hockey player after the likes of Dhyan Chand and Dhanraj Pillay, is now one of the senior players leading the team. He is one of modern hockey’s finest defensive mid-fielders ever, leading India to two successive silver medal finishes in the Commonwealth Games. He was also awarded the Arjuna Award in 2012.
The awards selection committee was headed by Justice (Retd) C K Thakkar.
Meanwhile, 17 names have been given by the selection committee for the Arjuna Award including cricketers Cheteshwar Pujara and Harmanpreet Kaur, Paralympic medallists Mariyappan Thangavelu and Varun Bhati, golfer SSP Chawrasia and hockey player S V Sunil.
