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

Jay Shah lauded Mithali Raj for the feat and said everyone is "proud" of the India Test and ODI skipper. "The flagbearer of Indian Women's Cricket @BCCIWomen has added another feather to her cap. Congratulations to @M_Raj03 for becoming the first Indian woman cricketer to receive the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. We are proud of you," Jay Shah tweeted.

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. 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.