Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, formerly known as Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, is the highest Sporting Honor of the Republic of India.
It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Government of India. The Award was established in 1992 and Viswanathan Anand, Chess Grandmaster was the first recipient.
The recipients are selected by a committee constituted by the Ministry and are honored for their “Spectacular And Most Outstanding Performance In The Field Of Sports Over A Period Of Four Years” at the International level.
As of 2023, the award comprises a Medallion, a Certificate, and a Cash Prize of ₹25 Lakh (US$31,000)
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Interesting Facts About Khel Ratna Award
The Awards were always awarded in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, India.
Khel Ratna Award is presented by the President of India.
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award was awarded from 1992 until 2020, from 2021 the award will be known as Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.
A total of 58 recipients have received the award as of 2022.
In 2014 the Award Selection Committee provided suggestions to the Ministry and revised the criteria in February 2015 to consider the performance over a period of four years.
From 6th August 2021 the award is named after Major Dhyan Chand (1905–79), an Indian Field Hockey Player, widely regarded as one of the Greatest Field Hockey Players of all time.
Major Dhyan Chand scored more than 1000 Goals over a career span of 22 years from 1926 to 1948.
In 2001, Sports Shooter Abhinav Bindra, then aged 18, became the youngest recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.
Pankaj Advani is the only sportsperson to have won the award for two sports disciplines; Billiards and Snooker.
Usually, only one Sportsperson is Awarded in a year, a few exceptions have been made (1993–1994, 2002, 2009, 2012, and 2016–2021) when multiple recipients were awarded in a year.
Points For Winning Medals During The Last 4 Years
#
Event
Gold
Silver
Bronze
1
Olympic Games/Paralympic Games
80
70
55
2
World Championship/World Cup
40
30
20
3
Asian Games
30
25
20
4
Commonwealth Games
25
20
15
Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award
2022
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Sharath Kamal
Table Tennis
2021
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Neeraj Chopra
Athletics
2
Ravi Kumar Dahiya
Freestyle Wrestling
3
Lovlina Borgohain
Boxing
4
P. R. Sreejesh
Hockey
5
Avani Lekhara
Paralympic Shooting
6
Sumit Antil
Para-Athletics
7
Pramod Bhagat
Para-Badminton
8
Krishna Nagar
Para-Badminton
9
Manish Narwal
Paralympic Shooting
10
Mithali Raj
Cricket
11
Sunil Chhetri
Football
12
Manpreet Singh
Hockey
2020
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Rohit Sharma
Cricket
2
Mariyappan Thangavelu
Paralympic High Jump
3
Manika Batra
Table Tennis
4
Vinesh Phogat
Freestyle Wrestling
5
Rani Rampal
Hockey
2019
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Deepa Malik
Paralympic Shot Put
2
Bajrang Punia
Freestyle Wrestling
2018
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu
Weightlifting
2
Virat Kohli
Cricket
2017
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Devendra Jhajharia
Paralympic Javelin
2
Sardara Singh
Hockey
2016
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
P. V. Sindhu
Badminton
2
Dipa Karmakar
Gymnastics
3
Jitu Rai
Shooting
4
Sakshi Malik
Freestyle Wrestling
2015
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Sania Mirza
Tennis
2014
No Award
2013
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Ronjan Sodhi
Shooting
2012
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Vijay Kumar
Shooting
2
Yogeshwar Dutt
Freestyle Wrestling
2011
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Gagan Narang
Shooting
2010
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Saina Nehwal
Badminton
2009
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Mary Kom
Boxing
2
Vijender Singh
Boxing
3
Sushil Kumar
Freestyle Wrestling
2008
No Award
2007
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Cricket
2006
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Manavjit Singh Sandhu
Shooting
2005
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Pankaj Advani
Billiards & Snooker
2004
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
Shooting
2003
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Anju Bobby George
Athletics
2002
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
K. M. Beenamol
Athletics
2
Anjali Bhagwat
Shooting
2001
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Abhinav Bindra
Shooting
2000–2001
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Pullela Gopichand
Badminton
1999–2000
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Dhanraj Pillay
Hockey
1998–1999
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Jyotirmoyee Sikdar
Athletics
1997–1998
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Sachin Tendulkar
Cricket
1996–1997
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Leander Paes
Tennis
1995–1996
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Nameirakpam Kunjarani
Weightlifting
1994–1995
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Karnam Malleswari
Weightlifting
1993–1994
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Pushpendra Kumar Garg
Yachting
1993–1994
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Homi Motivala
Yachting
1992–1993
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Geet Sethi
Billiards
1991–1992
No.
Recipients
Discipline
1
Viswanathan Anand
Chess
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award started in which year?
Answer: 1992
2. When was Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award renamed Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award?
Answer: 6thAugust 2021
3. Who is the first recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award?
Answer: Viswanathan Anand
4. Who is the only Sportsperson to have won the award for two sports disciplines?
Answer: Pankaj Advani (Billiards and Snooker)
5. Who is the Youngest recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award?
Answer: Abhinav Bindra (18 Years in 2001)
6. In which year the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award was awarded the highest?
