President Honours Indian Sportspersons

National Sports Day was observed on Thursday marking the 114 Birth Anniversary of ‘The Wizard’ of Hockey, Major Dhyan Chand. One of the greatest Hockey players in the history of sports, Major Dhyan Chand was awarded the highest civilian honour of India, ‘Padma Bhushan’ in 1956. He also brought three golds in the Olympics for pre-independent India. On this occasion, special sports award ceremony is held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, every year.

This year the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, honoured the sportsperson for their exceptional performances in various sports events representing India. On Thursday, President awarded ‘Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna’ to Deepa Malik along with Bajrang Punia. Deepa Malik is the first female para-athlete to receive the highest honorary sports award.

President Kovind confers the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, 2019 upon @DeepaAthlete in recognition of her outstanding achievements in Para-Athletics.

⏺️Bronze Medal (Javelin Throw) in Asian Para Games 2018
⏺️Silver Medal (Shot Put) in Paralympic Games 2016 pic.twitter.com/P32usp4L6I

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) August 29, 2019

Deepa expressed her gratitude on receiving the most coveted award and thanked all her supporters for encouraging her.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1yDULohaW9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Along with it, President awarded 19 athletes with ‘Arjuna Award’ for their outstanding field execution, making India proud. Expressing his gratitude Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Indian Footballer, wrote, “What helped me reach this point in my career, is blood, sweat, tears and sacrifices. Honoured beyond measure to be conferred the #ArjunaAward by Shri. Ramnath kovind today. I will continue to strive to be a better athlete and human being. Jai Hind! 🇮🇳”

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1wABf4AtEM/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Along with it, ‘Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy’ was given to Panjab University, Chandigarh for the best all round performance in sports representing India at national and international level.

President Kovind presents Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy 2019 to Panjab University, Chandigarh.

It is awarded to the university which has shown the best all round performance in sports. pic.twitter.com/WoqZWTJ6uF

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) August 29, 2019

We congratulate all the awardees and are proud of their achievements!