The nominations for the National Sports Awards 2023 have been unveiled, featuring prominent athletes vying for recognition with the Khel Ratna and Arjuna awards. In this notable lineup, the stellar badminton men’s doubles duo, Satwik-Chirag, has secured a nomination for the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. Additionally, pace sensation Mohammed Shami, along with archers Ojas Pravin Deotale and Aditi Gopichand Swami, and wrestler Antim Panghal, find themselves nominated for the esteemed Arjuna Award.
Satwik-Chirag nominated for Khel Ratna in the National Sports Awards 2023:
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty emerged as the sole nominees for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. Their nomination stems from a series of remarkable achievements, most notably, being the first Indian pair to secure the BWF Super 1000 title at the Indonesia Open.
Etching their names in history, the duo clinched India’s inaugural gold medal in badminton at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in October. Further contributing to their accolades, the ‘Brothers of Destruction’ triumphed at the Badminton Asia Championships in April. Noteworthy is their achievement of becoming the first Indian doubles pair to attain the world No. 1 spot in the badminton rankings this October.
Mohammed Shami, Antim Panghal nominated for Arjuna Award
A total of 17 athletes have received nominations for the Arjuna Awards. Among the notable recommendations are cricketer Mohammed Shami, archer Aditi Swami, steeplechaser Parul Chaudhary, shooter Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, and wrestler Antim Panghal.
One standout name in the list is Para archer Sheetal Devi. She achieved the distinction of becoming the first armless archer to secure a silver medal at the World Para Archery Championships, earning her qualification for the Paris Paralympics in 2024.
In another notable inclusion, Vaishali, who recently attained the status of the third female Grand Master from India, is also among the nominees. Adding to the recognition, RB Ramesh, the coach of siblings Praggnanandhaa and Vaishali, is being considered for the Dhronacharya Award.
National Sports Awards 2023: Players nominated
Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award: Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty (badminton)
Arjuna Award: Mohammed Shami (cricket), Ajay Reddy (blind cricket) Ojas Pravin Deotale (archery), Aditi Gopichand Swami (archery), Sheetal Devi (para archery), Parul Chaudhary and M Sreeshankar (athletics), Mohd Hussamuddin (boxing), R Vaishali (chess), Divyakriti Singh and Anush Agarwalla (equestrian), Diksha Dagar (golf), Krishan Bahadur Pathak (hockey), Sushila Chanu (hockey), Pinky (lawn ball), Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar (shooting), Antim Panghal (wrestling), Ayhika Mukherjee (table tennis)
Dronacharya Award: Ganesh Prabhakaran (mallakhamb), Mahavir Saini (para athletics), Lalit Kumar (wrestling), RB Ramesh (chess), Shivendra Singh (hockey)
Dhyan Chand Lifetime Award: Kavita (kabaddi), Manjusha Kanwar (badminton) Vineet Kumar Sharma (hockey)
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