Saina Nehwal chosen for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2010

File photo of Saina Nehwal receiving the Arjuna Award 2009 from President Pratibha Patil.

Badminton star Saina Nehwal, currently ranked number two in the world, was today chosen by the Government for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for 2010, the nation's highest national award in sports.

As many as 15 sportspersons were named for the prestigious Arjuna Awards for their achievements in their chosen sport and three for the Dhyan Chand Awards for their lifetime contribution to sports.

Five coaches were named for the Dronacharya Awards and four organisations for the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar, given for the promotion of sports.

The awards were decided by two panels of eminent sportspersons and sports administrators; one headed by athlete P T Usha for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna and Dhyan Chand Awards and the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar and the other by former hockey star Ashok Kumar for the Dronacharya Awards.

Those chosen for the Arjuna Award for 2010 are Joseph Abraham, Krishna Poonia (athletics), Dinesh Kumar (boxing), Parimrajan Negi (chess), Julan Goswami (cricket-women), Deepak Kumar Mandal (football), Sandeep Singh (hockey-men), Jasjeet Kaur Handa (hockey-women), Dinesh Kumar (kabaddi), Sanjeev Rajput (shooting), Rehan Jahangir Poncha (swimming), Kapil Dev K J (volleyball), Rajeev Tomar (wrestling), Rajesh Chaudhary (yachting) and Jagseer Singh (paralympic athletics).

The Dhyan Chand Awards for 2010 go to Satish Pillai (athletics), Kuldeep Singh (wrestling) and Anita Chanu (weightlifting).

A K Kutty (athletics), Subhash Aggarwal (billiards & snooker), L Ibomcha Singh (boxing), Ajay Kumar Bansal (hockey) and Captain Chandrup (wrestling) are the coaches chosen for the Dronacharya Awards for 2010. Of them, Kutty and Chandrup get the award for their lifetime contribution in coaching, an official press release said.

The Rashtriya Khel Protsahana Puruskar 2010 will be given to the Services Sports Control Board (community sports identification and nurturing of budding and young talent), Tata Steel Limitd (financial support for sports excellence), Khel Evam Yuva Vibhag, Government of Madhya Pradesh (establishment and management of sports academies of excellence) and Services Sports Control Board again for employment of sportspersons and sports welfare measures.

The National Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports.

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is given for spectacular performance in the year under consideration; Arjuna Award for consistently outstanding performance for three consecutive years preceding the year of award; Dhyan Chand Award for life time contribution to sports development; and Dronacharya Award for producing medal winners at prestigious international sports events in past three years.

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is given to only one sportsperson in a year. Arjuna Award is given to not more than 15, Dhyan Chand Award to not more than 3 and Dronacharya Award to not more than 5 persons.

Apart from a medal and a citation, the winner of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna will receive a cash prize of Rs.7.5 lakh. Arjuna, Dhyan Chand and Dronacharya Awardees will receive statuettes, citations and cash prize of Rs.5 lakh each. The recipients of Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar will receive trophies and citation.

The awardees will receive their awards from the President at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 29.

NNN