President Ram Nath Kovind, on Saturday 13th November 2021, handed out the National Sports Awards 2021, which was announced by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports earlier this month.
While 12 sportspersons were awarded the Khel Ratna, 35 Indian athletes were honored with the Arjuna award this year. This includes 16 members of the Indian National Hockey team that won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Apart from them, Wrestler Deepak Punia, boxer Simranjit Kaur, fencer Bhavani Devi, and Paralympics medallist Bhavina Patel too were among the list of awardees.
Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, woman cricketer Mithali Raj, and history-making Paralympic stars received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, which was among the first awards handed out in the evening. Even Indian Cricketer Shikhar Dhawan received the Arjuna award this year.
National Sports Awards are normally presented on the occasion of the National Sports Day on August 29, this year owing to the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games, they were rescheduled on Saturday 13th November 2021.