National Sports & Adventure Awards-2021

• 15 Nov 2021

Why in News

On November 13, 2021, the players of Haryana were honored with the National Sports and Adventure Award-2021 by President Ram Nath Kovind for their excellent performance in Olympics and Paralympics-2020.

Key Points

• 12 sportspersons and 4 coaches from Haryana have received Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, Arjuna Award, Dronacharya Life Time Award, Dronacharya Award and Major Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award in this function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.
• Para archer Neeraj Chopra, para shooter Manish Narwal, wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya and para athlete Sumit Antil have received the country's highest sports honor 'Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna'.
• At the same time, 8 players belonging to Haryana, Para athlete Yogesh Kathunia, hockey player Surendra Palad, hockey player Singhraj Adhana, Sumit Kumar, wrestler Deepak Poonia, para archer Harvinder Singh, hockey player Monika Malik and Kabaddi player Sandeep Narwal will be awarded by Arjuna Award for Outstanding Performance in sports and competition for 2021.
• Cricket coach Sarkar Talwar and Kabaddi coach Ashan Kumar have been honored in the Dronacharya Award (Life-time Category) for Outstanding Coaches in Sports and Competition 2021. Hockey coach Pritam Siwach has received the honor in the Dronacharya Award (regular category). Wrestler Sajjan Singh has been honored with the Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Competition 2021.
• Manav Rachna Educational Institute, Haryana has been awarded the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar 2021 in the category of identification and nurturing of budding and young talent.
• Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award (earlier Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award) was instituted by the Government in 1991-92. The award is given for the phenomenal and outstanding performance by a single player in the field during the last four years. The award consists of a medal, ceremonial dress, certificate and Rs 25.00 lakh in cash.
• The Dronacharya Award was instituted in 1985 to honor eminent coaches who have successfully coached players or teams that have achieved outstanding results in international competitions. The awardee is given a statuette, certificate, ceremonial dress and Rs.15.00 lakh in lifetime category and Rs.10.00 in regular category.
• Established in the year 1961, the Arjuna Award is given to those sportspersons who have consistently excelled at the international level in the last four years, along with the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and spirit of discipline. The awardee is given a statuette, certificate, ceremonial dress and Rs 15.00 lakh in cash.
• In order to honor those sportspersons who have contributed to sports through their performance and continue to contribute to the promotion of sports even after their retirement from active sporting life, the Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports has been instituted since 2002. The award consists of a certificate, ceremonial dress and Rs.10.00 lakh in cash.
• In order to recognize the contribution made in the development of sports by persons other than players and coaches, the government has constituted a new award titled National Khel Protsahan Puraskar from the year 2009, in which there are four categories, namely: (1) Identification and nurturing of budding/young talent (2) Promotion of sports through Corporate Social Responsibility (3) Employment and sports welfare measures for sportspersons (4) Sports awards for development One citation in each of the above mentioned categories and one Trophy is awarded. There is no cash prize in this.