Rohit Sharma will be the fourth Indian cricketer to receive the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.Rajeev Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2020: India’s limited overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma, wrestler Vinesh Phogat, TT player Manika Batra and Paralympic gold medalist high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu have been selected for this year’s Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award. The selection committee of the Sports Ministry has taken this decision. This is the second time after 2016, when four players have been selected for the country’s highest sporting honour.
Virender Sehwag and former hockey captain Sardar Singh are also included in this limited of the Sports Ministry. The committee has held a meeting at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) headquarters here. Star shuttler PV Sindhu, gymnast Dipa Karmakar, shooter Jitu Rai and wrestler Sakshi Malik were jointly given this top honor in 2016.
It was decided to honor Rohit Sharma for his phenomenal game in batting. At the same time, Wrestler Vinesh Phogat is being awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna for the gold medal in the 2018 Commonwealth and Asian Games and the bronze medal in the Asian Wrestling Championships in 2019. In addition, Thangavelu is being given this honor for winning the gold medal in the T42 high jump category at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Rohit Sharma fourth cricketer to receive Khel Ratna
Rohit Sharma will be the fourth Indian cricketer to receive the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award. Before Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar (1997-98), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (2007) and Virat Kohli (2018) have been honored with this award. The 12-member selection committee for the National Sports Awards had on Monday recommended names for the Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand awards. On Tuesday, the committee has approved the names of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award.
Let us tell you, Rohit Sharma, who scored 3 double centuries in One Day International cricket, scored 5 centuries for India in World Cup 2019. In this way Rohit had made a world record. However, the Indian team was eliminated after losing the semi-finals.