The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has announced the National Sports Awards for the year 2024. The prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award will be conferred upon four outstanding athletes, including Olympic medalist shooter Manu Bhaker, chess champion D Gukesh, Indian hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh, and Paralympic athlete Pravin Kumar.
These athletes will receive their awards on January 17, 2025, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Manu Bhaker had won two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics, while Harmanpreet Singh led the Indian hockey team to a bronze medal at the same event. Pravin Kumar won a gold medal in the T64 high jump event at the Paris Paralympics.
D Gukesh, the 18-year-old chess prodigy, recently became the youngest world chess champion by defeating Ding Liren in Singapore. He broke the record previously held by Gary Kasparov, who became world champion at the age of 22.
The selection committee for the National Sports Awards was headed by Justice V Ramasubramanian, a retired judge of the Supreme Court. The committee had recommended the names of these four athletes for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.
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