President Droupadi Murmu will present the Major Dhyan Chand Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 2022 to table tennis player Achanta Sharath Kamal at a ceremony held at  Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on November 30.

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However, Sharath is the only sportsperson to receive the Khel Ratna this year. Achanta won the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games 2022. While 25 other sportspersons will be honored with the Arjuna Award, including badminton players Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, women boxer Nikhat Zareen, and athletes Eldhose Paul and Avinash Sable.

Meanwhile, awards will be given to the sports award winners in a special function organized at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Jiwanjot Singh Teja (Archery), Mohammad Ali Qamar (Boxing), Suma Siddharth Shirur (Para shooting), and Sujeet Maan (Wrestling) will be given the Dronacharya award. At the same time, Dinesh Jawahar Lad (Cricket), Bimal Prafulla Ghosh (Football), and Raj Singh will get this award in the lifetime contribution category. Ashwini Akkunji C (Athletics), Dharamvir Singh (Hockey), B C Suresh (Kabaddi) and Nir Bahadur Gurung (Para Athletics) will receive the Dhyan Chand Lifetime Contribution Award.

Also read: PV Sindhu ruled out of BWF World Tour Finals 2022 due to injury

List of winners:

​Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2022

Achanta Sharath Kamal

Arjuna Awards for outstanding performance in Sports and Games 2022

Seema Punia (Athletics), Eldhose Paul (Athletics), Avinash Mukund Sable (Athletics), Lakshya Sen (Badminton), HS Prannoy (Badminton), Amit (Boxing), Nikhat Zareen (Boxing), Bhakti Pradip Kulkarni (Chess), R Praggnanandhaa (Chess), Deep Grace Ekka (Hockey), Shushila Devi (Judo), Sakshi Kumari (Kabaddi), Nayan Moni Saikia (Lawn Bowl), Sagar Kailas Ovhalkar (Mallakhamb), Elavenil Valarivan (Shooting), Omprakash Mitharval (Shooting), Sreeja Akula (Table Tennis), Vikas Thakur (Weightlifting), Anshu (Wrestling), Sarita (Wrestling), Parveen (Wushu), Manasi Girishchandra Joshi (Para Badminton), Tarun Dhillon (Para Badminton), Swapnil Sanjay Patil (Para Swimming), Jerlin Anika J (Deaf Badminton)

​Dronacharya Award for outstanding coaches in Sports and Games 2022 Regular Category

Jiwanjot Singh Teja (Archery), Mohammad Ali Qamar (Boxing), Suma Siddharth Shirur (Para Shooting), Sujeet Maan (Wrestling)

Lifetime Category

Dinesh Jawahar Lad (Cricket), Bimal Prafulla Ghosh (Football), Raj Singh (Wrestling)

Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games 2022

 Ashwini Akkunji C (Athletics), Dharamvir Singh (Hockey), B C Suresh (Kabaddi), Nir Bahadur Gurung (Para Athletics)

Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 2022

TransStadia Enterprises Private Limited, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Ladakh Ski & Snowboard Association

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy 2022

Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar

LA 2028 is going to see great Olympians continue their greatness, young stars take their next steps, and entire sports leap into the spotlight.

India has already started its preparation for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. India is seeing a great performance in LA, where everyone is expecting to win more than 10 medals. The country feels optimistic with a promising lineup mixed with veterans and young guns that these young men shall not only live up but also exceed expectations when they bring laurels home to India in the LA 2028.

We have three years before the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. So, just making firm predictions who will win what is tough. So, let's just try to make a prediction of who to watch in LA 2028 from India.

Also Read: 10 Indian Women Who Made Olympic History

Anahat Singh

Well, this might sound wild. But why make only the safe predictions? India expects Anahat Singh to bag the first Olympic squash medal. 

Anahat Singh had already won a medal at the Asian Games at an age of fifteen. She has also quickly emerged as the best female squash player in India. What a time to come out of the shadows for a sport that will have its greatest hour ever when squash is introduced in the Olympic programme in Los Angeles.

Nothing wrong with Anahat being among the world’s best juniors. Each time she competes at a senior event, she is better. Forget Joshna Chinappa, Dipika Pallikal, and Saurav Ghosal, those legends from India might be too old to pick up a racquet and compete in Los Angeles, but Anahat can win for them all.

Anmol Kharb

It is not an easy job to emulate PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal. It’s also not an easy assignment to follow a huge success at such a young age with consistent performances later. Teenager Anmol Kharb found that out after she was India’s star at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in early 2024. In high-stakes clashes, she outsmarted players with higher rankings.

Till Tokyo, India had won three consecutive medals in women’s singles badminton; however, that run was stopped in Paris. Kharb possesses tremendous skill and as such, like she showed early this year, has the right attitude. All now remains is to conjure consistency. Anmol can prove to be the third woman that wins her a medal in badminton for India.

Dhiraj Bommadevara

The 22-year-old Bullseye archer from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, was a treat to behold at the Olympics in Paris. He finished the men’s individual archery ranking round with a total of 681 out of 720. In the team event, his superb shooting carried India to qualify for the quarterfinals. Turkey edged past Bommadevara, Tarundeep Rai, and Pravin Jadhav 6-2 in the quarters of the men’s team event.

Bommadevara made Olympic history as the first Indian archer to reach the mixed team semifinals, along with Ankita Bhakat. The duo finally finished fourth, and silver or bronze medals proved just out of reach. So, with age being his side, he is likely to put up a show at the next Olympics to bring a long due medal home. However, this time we hope he gives us a medal to celebrate at the 2028 Olympics.

Lakshya Sen

When Viktor Axelsen says it, how can anyone disagree? The two-time Olympic champion earmarked Lakshya Sen as one of the big contenders for the gold medal in LA after their semifinal in Paris 2024, which Axelsen won in straight games despite being given a scare in both games.

Lakshya is only 23 and has plenty of badminton ahead of him. Like in the Thomas Cup in 2022, and then the Asian Games last year before these Olympics, he has shown time and again that he has the ability to raise his level at big tournaments as well.

Bhajan Kaur

The upcoming star of Indian Archery, Bhajan Kaur, who in her tender age of nineteen only, marked her presence in the archery tournament. She ranked 22nd in the women’s individual ranking round with a score of 659. In the Round of 16, she faced Diananda Choirunisa of Indonesia, and her exciting match went into a shoot-off.

Her Olympic journey ended there in the shoot-off; however, she did leave behind a mark as a promising name in Indian archery despite her heroic effort to come back from a facile victory from behind and force a tie. She was known for accuracy. So far, she has been going very well and she was confident of winning at international levels. Her rigorous schedule of training coupled with her recent wins have increased the expectation of a medal in the 2028 Olympics.

Also Read: Most medals by an Indian in a single Olympics

Reetika Hooda

Haryana’s girl, Reetika represented her state in the women’s 57kg freestyle category. She went all gung-ho. On August 10, she was knocked out of the Paris Olympics with a close loss to the top-seeded Aiperi Medet Kyzy of Kyrgyzstan at the women’s 76kg freestyle quarterfinals. On points, the match remained 1-1, but Medet Kyzy won due to the final technical point rule.

Hooda, who has emerged as one of the best athletes in Indian athletics, is getting enough attention these days. With improved personal bests and perfected technique, experts feel she would easily be at stake for a medal at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Reetika’s journey inspires many young athletes, and her potential success in 2028 can well be a historic moment for Indian sports.

Indian Men's Hockey Team

There will be changes to the Indian men's hockey team between Paris and the LA Olympics. One thing that won't change is its captain. It's both scary (for the rest of the world) and reassuring (for Indians) to think that Harmanpreet Singh is still only 28 years old.

He's coach Craig Fulton's general now. He's just inspired his team to a bronze medal. The youngsters coming through are showing so much promise. Fulton will oversee those changes, but will still build his side around his captain. Much like PR Sreejesh in Paris, there is a chance that LA sees the team wanting to play for Harmanpreet.

Of course, as Graham Reid found out after Tokyo, there's plenty of potential to fall flat on your face, but if Fulton has his way for the next four years, that first gold medal since Moscow 1980 certainly can't be far away.

Indian Men's Cricket Team

Cricket is another sport which might bring a medal for the Indian contingent. Six teams will participate in the event to be held in Los Angeles. As hosts, the USA might receive an automatic qualification spot. Further, England will be participating under the Great Britain flag while the Islands which comprise the West Indies will compete as individual countries, which might weaken them.

Indian Men's Cricket Team has been in brilliant form in the white-ball ICC tournaments in the last two years. The team first clinched the T20 World Cup in 2024 and also won the Champions Trophy 2025. Considering the kind of India’s form and the talent pool they have, the Men in Blue are strong medal contenders and that too for a gold.

Also Read: Cricket may be shifted from Los Angeles at the 2028 Olympics, to attract Indian fans

Jyothi Surekha Vennam

Among the star athletes to expect sometime in LA is Jyothi Surekha Vennam, one of India's most decorated archers. Eight world championship medals, India’s first world title in Compound archery, and 20 World Cup medals, including ten gold medals, are some prestigious accolades proudly owned by her.

Her glorious moment was in Hangzhou, where she created history by winning gold in all three events—individual, women's team, and mixed team compound. In addition to it, she and Ojas Pravin Deotale had won mixed team gold in the Archery World Cup Stage 1 in Antalya (April 2023), missing world record status narrowly with a score of 159-154 against Chinese Taipei.

Indian badminton player Lakshya Sen crashed out in the first round of the Thailand Open 2025 badminton tournament while Malvika Bansod, Aakarshi Kashyap and Unnati Hooda advanced to the second round of the women's singles after winning tough matches in the Super 500 tournament.

Unnati faces a tough challenge

Unnati Hooda faces a tough challenge against top seed Pornpawee Chochuwong, while Malvika Bansod takes on former world champion and seasoned Thai shuttler Ratchanok Intanon in the second round.

Aakarshi Kashyap completes the women's singles trio as she looks to continue her campaign. In the men’s singles draw, Tharun Mannepalli remains the lone Indian hope.

Lakshya and Priyanshu suffered early exits

In the men's singles, both Lakshya Sen and Priyanshu Rajawat suffered early exits, bowing out in the first round. The women’s singles saw better fortunes, with Aakarshi Kashyap, Unnati Hooda, and Malvika Bansod progressing to the second round, while Anupama Upadhyay and Santosh Ramraj were eliminated.

Lakshya Sen was ousted by Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen in a three-game encounter that lasted 1 hour and 20 minutes. Sen, ranked among India’s top badminton talents, went down 18-21, 21-9, 17-21 in a match that saw momentum swings.

After narrowly losing the opening game, Sen responded with a dominating performance in the second, unleashing sharp smashes and fast-paced rallies to level the match. But Nguyen dug deep in the decider, pulling ahead 17-13 and holding his composure in the pressure moments to complete the upset and move into the second round. India’s men’s singles woes were compounded by Priyanshu Rajawat’s exit, as he fell short in another three-game battle, losing 13-21, 21-17, 16-21 to Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan.

Kidambi Srikanth could not qualify for main round

Earlier, former world no.1 Kidambi Srikanth could not qualify for the main round of the Thailand Open 2025 badminton tournament after losing his second match in the qualifiers on Tuesday.

Srikanth, a world championships silver medallist, defeated Sankar Subramanian 21-15, 21-17 in his first round of qualifiers before losing to Tharun Mannepalli 21-16, 21-19 in the second.

Four players, including Manu Bhaker, who won two Olympic medals at the Paris Olympics 2024, and World Chess Championship winner Indian Grandmaster D Gukesh will be honored with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2024. The National Sports Award 2024 has been announced by the Sports Ministry on Thursday.

Also Read: Beatrice Chebet becomes the first woman to run 5km under 14 minutes in Barcelona

Apart from Manu and Gukesh, Indian men's hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh and Paralympian Praveen Kumar will also be given the Khel Ratna Award 2024. 

The award ceremony will take place on January 17, 2025, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

Khel Ratna Award 2024: Winners List

Manu won double medal in Paris Olympics

Manu Bhaker, 22, became the first player from independent India to win two medals in the same Olympics when she won bronze medals in the 10m air pistol individual and mixed team events at the Paris Games in August. On the basis of his two medals, India won a total of 6 medals in the Paris.

18 year old Gukesh is the new youngest world champion

18-year-old Indian Grandmaster Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest world champion and was also instrumental in the Indian team's historic gold medal in the Chess Olympiad last year. He defeated defending champion Ding Liren of China in the final.

Gukesh has become the first player in the world to win the title at such a young age. Earlier in 1985, Russia's Garry Kasparov had won this title at the age of 22.

Harmanpreet-led India won bronze in Paris

Under the captaincy of Harmanpreet Singh, the Indian hockey team won a medal for the second consecutive Olympics. They won the bronze medal in the Paris Olympics and the gold medal in the Asian Games 2022. At the same time, Harmanpreet has won the title of Player of the Year at FIH Awards three times.

Praveen won Paralympic gold with a record in high jump

Para high jumper Praveen Kumar surprised everyone by winning the gold medal with an Asian record in the men's high jump at the Paris Paralympics. Praveen, who won a silver medal in the Tokyo Paralympics, gave the best performance of his career in the T64 event and registered his name in history by clearing a height of 2.08 meters.

The contemporary Indian Badminton has so far gained the popularity in its country. However, certain issues need to be resolved. The biggest concern lies in the shuttlers facing a different environment in the non-Asian Countries. The major problem they face is the thick and slower court. 

This issue had made India short of many assured medals by whiskers. Be it peak Kidambi Srikanth missing his World Title in 2017 to Reddy-Shetty failing in big tournaments.

How do Indian and Asian Courts differ from European Courts?

The Asian Summers

Speaking about the weather in the Asian summers, it is humid. The Asian stadia provide full on air-conditioned courts for athletes. 

Air-conditioned rooms are marked favorable for shuttles, as the shuttles fly faster here. Here are the reasons:

• Lower air density: Air conditioning reduces temperature and humidity, resulting in denser air with fewer air molecules. This decrease in air resistance allows shuttlecocks to travel faster.
• Reduced air turbulence: Air conditioning systems circulate and filter the air, minimizing turbulence and air pockets that can slow down the shuttlecock.
• Consistent airflow: Air conditioning maintains a consistent airflow, reducing unpredictable air currents that can affect shuttlecock trajectory.
• Lower humidity: Dry air reduces the shuttlecock's drag coefficient, enabling it to fly faster.

This helps the athletes to maintain faster rallies and increased smashes with an attacking play. The also helps them to read the speed and work on their reaction time'

Added to this, the enhthralling supporters add more fuel to the pagddlers when tired.

European winters

European winters contradics the humid weather. Unlike the windy weather here, the air feels cal, slow and still. 

Slow and still air significantly impacts shuttlers' performance, technique, and strategy. it included different physical challenges along with rectified techniques and strategies.

The challanges a shuttler faces due to these conditions are as follows:

• Reduced shuttlecock speed: Slower reactions, less power.
• Increased drag: Shuttles dip and drop unexpectedly.
• Unpredictable trajectory: Difficulty judging distance and direction.
• Fatigue: Players expend more energy to generate power.

However, these are the "negetives" bigger stages like Olympics, offer.

Slow court, A Bane to the Shuttlers

Here are some instances when paddles were denied their crown due to the courts' behaviour.

• 2017 Kidambi Srikanth, a fast court specialist in India missed his Worlds Title in the slow Glaswegian conditions. The slow pitch defied from the title as the Korean Son Wan-ho defeated him in the quarterfinal.
• Tanvi Patri, a 13 year old rookie got defeated in Thailand's sluggish pitch last December. The thick air denied her speed, showing a red alert that she needs to gain some strength.
• And the most discussed duo- Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty. Right now, Reddy-Shetty is the finest doubles player in Indian Badminton periphery. Reddy still has his world fastest smash of 493km/hr. Even then, this duo cannot assert full power in slow court. And thus, they lost a few of the most serious and well-deserved titles.

Demands of Sluggish Pitches

Slow and still air significantly impacts shuttlers' performance, techniques, and strategies. Someone who was been trained on faster courts will find it difficult to adapt to the conditions if exposed.

The shuttles face certain physical changes that are listed below:

• Reduced shuttlecock speed: Slower reactions, less power.
• Increased drag: Shuttles dip and drop unexpectedly.
• Unpredictable trajectory: Difficulty judging distance and direction.
• Fatigue: Players expend more energy to generate power.

An athlete thus needs to make a few technical adjustments to combat the challenges.

• Slower stroke speed: Compensate for reduced shuttlecock speed.
• Increased wristwork: Generate power and control.
• Softer touches: Reduce shuttlecock's descent.
• More spin: Control shuttlecock trajectory.

The strategic changes include:

• Patient play: Waiting for opportunities to attack.
• Defensive focus: Exploiting opponents' struggles.
• Net play: Using precise, soft shots.
• Angle play: Creating sharp angles to disrupt opponents.

Effects on a few notable Shots:

1. Smashes: Less effective due to reduced power.
2. Clear shots: More difficult to execute.
3. Drops: Harder to control.

Slow Court? Not an Issue!

Not an old story when Lakshya Sen lost to Victor Axelsen in the Olympics semi-final. Slower Courts like that in Europe, especially in stages like Olympics demand patience and exquisite footwork, with strong defence. Lakshya had his defence in the checklist, but his footwork was still a sore in his throat. The Denmark giant was a set ahead when Lakshya fought but lost to nerves.

The bronze medal match had all these including his exposed injury in his smashing hand. The defence he has can aid in this condition but muscular opponents are still a challange to him.

The other veteran on court H.S. Pranoy is a clever lad with versatile techniques. He has got his techniques handy to combat the sluggishness. He thus not only won in Malaysia, but has a Worlds medal round his neck.

Two-time Olympic medalist P.V. Sindhu with her blazing power heft and work rate till 2019, defies these challanging conditions. The Olympic bronze medalist Saina Nehwal with her sturdy power smash overshadowed her limitations in court coverage capabilities.

Indian Approach

India has a love for stroke-making. Even though it is aesthetically pleasing, it question the  practicality in World Badminton.

With the October ticks in, the Europe session starts. The badminton camp then comes back and does a wide India-hoping, visiting smallcities playing number of tournaments! But how that that judge their efficiency in slow courts!

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The slow courts host a major number of important international tournaments. With India not getting enough time their will never expire the frustration of them not getting medals.

Rookies like Priyanshu Rajawat will depend more on strokeplays like his ancestor Srikant used todo. Not failing the later, Rajawat will succumb to frustrating errors, missing points. Srikant had Son Wan-ho, but Rajawat will have way more equipped opponents-  Kunlavut Vitidsarn and of Kodai Naraoka.

Its high time for Indian to spend more time on slow courts, count quality over quantity, in order to not miss any well deserved title in fututre, 

Hello and welcome to Sportz Point's another coverage of India at Paris Olympics 2024 as Indian athletes look to create history in Paris. 

This is Abhishek Goswami and Payal Debnath bringing you all the updates from the web desk.

Lakshya Sen will be in action in the men's singles badminton bronze medal match while Maheshwari Chauhan and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka will be participating in the Skeet Mixed Team qualification. 

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Read Also | India at Paris Olympics 2024 Day 10 (5th August) Schedule