Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awards

.     RAJIV GANDHI KHEL RATNA AWARD

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (RGKR) is India’s highest honour given for achievement in sports. The words "Khel Ratna" literally mean "sports gem" in Hindi. The award is named after the late Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India. It carries a medal, a scroll of honour and a substantial cash component. Up to 2004–05, the cash component was Rs. 500,000/- (c.11,500 USD).The money has been increased from Rs. 500,000 to Rs. 750,000.The award was instituted in the year 1991–92.

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, the silver medallist of Athens Olympics 2004, was named the head of the 15-member committee, set up to select the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee and Arjun Award winners. Aslam Sher Khan, the former hockey team skipper, was named the head of the 15-member committee that will select the Dronacharya Awardees.

Rajeev Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is the highest sports award in the country. The award consists of a cash award of 7.5 lakh rupees, a scroll of honour and a medal. Arjuna Awards, the second highest awards given to sportspersons, carries a scroll of honour, and a cash award of five lakh rupees. Dronacharya Awards are given to the coaches of different sports for their remarkable contribution. The Dronacharya Awards are consisted of a plaque, a scroll of honour, ceremonial dress and a cash award of five lakh rupees.

List of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardees

Year	Name of the Sportsperson(s)	Sport Discipline
1991–92	Viswanathan Anand	Chess
1992–93	Geet Sethi	Billiards
1993–94	Not Conferred†	–
1994–95	Cdr. Homi D. Motivala (Joint)	Yachting (Team Event)
	Lt. Cdr. P. K. Garg (Joint)
1995–96	Karnam Malleswari	Weightlifting
1996–97	Nameirakpam Kunjarani (Joint)	Weightlifting
	Leander Paes (Joint)	Tennis
1997–98	Sachin Tendulkar	Cricket
1998–99	Jyotirmoyee Sikdar	Athletics
1999–2000	Dhanraj Pillay	Hockey
2000–01	Pullela Gopichand	Badminton
2001–02	Abhinav Bindra	Shooting
2002–03	Anjali Ved Pathak Bhagwat(Joint)	Shooting
	K. M. Beenamol (Joint)	Athletics
2003–04	Anju Bobby George[2]	Athletics
2004–05	Lt. Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore[3]	Shooting
2005–06	Pankaj Advani[4]	Billiards and Snooker
2006–07	Manavjit Singh Sandhu[5]	Shooting
2007–08	Mahendra Singh Dhoni[6]	Cricket
2008–09	Mary Kom (Joint)[7]	Boxing
	Vijender Singh (Joint)[7]	Boxing
	Sushil Kumar (Joint)[7]	Wrestling
2009–10	Saina Nehwal[8]	Badminton
2010–11	Gagan Narang[9]	Shooting

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore named as the head of Rajiv Gandhi Khel
Ratna Awards Committee
The silver medal winner of Athens Olympics 2004, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, has been appointed as head of the 15-
member committee that will select the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee and Arjun Award winners.
Former Captain of Indian Hockey Team, Aslam Sher Khan, will be the head of the 15-member committee that will
select the Dronacharya Awardees.
 Rajeev Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, which carries a cash of Rs 7.5 lakh, a scroll honour and a medal, is the supreme
sports award in the country.
 Arjuna Awards, the second highest awards given to sportspersons, carries a scroll of honour, and a cash award of
Rs 5 lakh.
 Dronacharya Awards are conferred to the coaches of different sports for their noteworthy contribution. The
award consists of a plaque, a scroll of honour, ceremonial dress and a cash award of Rs 5 lakh











Vijay Kumar who won silver medal in shooting event and Yogeshwar Dutt who clinched Bronze in wrestling at London
Olympics will be conferred with country’s highest sporting honour Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for the year 2012.
Can Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award be conferred on more than one person in a year ?
 Usually the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award is conferred on only one sportsperson in one calendar year but the
rule can be relaxed in special circumstances such as an Olympic medal.