Mohammed Shami Receives Arjuna Award; Badminton Duo Satwik & Chirag Collect the Khel Ratna Award

The badminton duo Satwik Sairaj and Chirag Shetty were honoured with the Khel Ratna Award while Mohammed Shami was among 26 athletes to receive the Arjuna Award.

Abishek GoswamiJanuary 9, 2024 at 07:43 AM • 3 min read
Mohammed Shami Receives Arjuna Award; Badminton Duo Satwik & Chirag Collect the Khel Ratna Award
The badminton duo Satwik Sairaj and Chirag Shetty were honoured with the Khel Ratna Award while Mohammed Shami was among 26 athletes to receive the Arjuna Award.

The Indian athletes were conferred with the National Sports Awards by President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Tuesday. The Badminton duo Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy received the Khel Ratna Award while Cricketer Mohammed Shami collected the coveted Arjuna Award.Ā 

Chirag and Satwik won their maiden Asian Games gold in 2023, first time for India in badminton. The duo also clinched the Asian Championships title and the Indonesia Open Super 1000 title.

Chirag and Satwik became the world No.1 last year. They would be aiming for an Olympic medal in Paris. "Yes, that is our next goal (to win an Olympic medal). We hope to do the country proud again," said Chirag.

26 athletes and para-athletes were conferred the Arjuna Awards. The newly-crowned chess Grandmaster R. Vaishali, the elder sister of R. Praggnanandhaa was honoured for becoming the third woman from the country after Koneru Humpy and Dronavalli Harika to turn GM.

19-year-old Esha Singh is competing in the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Jakarta. She qualified for the Paris Olympics after winning the individual and team gold in 10m air pistol events on Monday.

Wrestler Antim Panghal, a former junior world champion and bronze-winner at the senior event last year, boxer Mohammad Hussamuddin (bronze-winner at last year's world championship), and para archer Sheetal Devi were also conferred with the Arjuna Award.

Devi won two gold medals in the Hangzhou Asian Games. She is the first international para archer without upper limbs due to a rare condition called Phocomelia.

Among the notable Dronacharya awardees, this year is chess coach RB Ramesh, who has groomed Praggnanandhaa.

List of National Sports Award winners:

Khel Ratna Award for 2023:

Chirag Shetty and Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy (badminton).

Arjuna Awards for 2023:

  1. Ojas Pravin Deotale (archery)

  • Aditi Gopichand Swami (archery)

  • Murali Sreeshankar (athletics)

  • Parul Chaudhary (athletics)

  • Mohammed Hussamuddin (boxing)

  • R Vaishali (chess)

  • Mohammed Shami (cricket)

  • Anush Agarwalla (equestrian)

  • Divyakriti Singh (equestrian dressage)

  • Diksha Dagar (golf)

  • Krishan Bahadur Pathak (hockey)

  • Sushila Chanu (hockey)

  • Pawan Kumar (kabaddi)

  • Ritu Negi (kabaddi)

  • Nasreen (kho-kho)

  • Pinki (lawn bowls)

  • Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar (shooting)

  • Esha Singh (shooting)

  • Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (squash)

  • Ayhika Mukherjee (table tennis)

  • Sunil Kumar (wrestling)

  • Antim Panghal (wrestling)

  • Naorem Roshibina Devi (wushu)

  • Sheetal Devi (para archery)

  • Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy (blind cricket)

  • Prachi Yadav (para canoeing)

  • Dronacharya Award (Regular Category) for outstanding coaches:

    1. Lalit Kumar (wrestling)

  • RB Ramesh (chess)

  • Mahaveer Prasad Saini (para athletics)

  • Shivendra Singh (hockey)

  • Ganesh Prabhakar Devrukhkar (mallakhamb)

  • Dronacharya Award (Lifetime Category) for outstanding coaches:

  • Jaskirat Singh Grewal (golf)

  • Bhaskaran E (kabaddi)

  • Jayanta Kumar Pushilal (table tennis)

  • Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement:

    1. Manjusha Kanwar (badminton)

  • Vineet Kumar Sharma (hockey)

  • Kavitha Selvaraj (kabaddi)

  • Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy 2023:

    1. Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (overall winner university)

  • Lovely Professional University, Punjab (1st runner-up)

  • Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra (2nd runner-up)

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    Abishek Goswami

    Abishek Goswami is an aspiring technology professional currently pursuing a B.Tech in Information Technology from Haldia Institute of Technology. Alongside his passion for technology, he has a deep love for sports, which he explored further during his tenure as a writer and editor for Sportz Point. His experience in sports journalism not only enriched his knowledge of various sports but also instilled valuable life lessons and the importance of working in a structured environment. With a dynamic interest in both technology and sports, Abishek brings a well-rounded approach to learning, storytelling, and professional growth.

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