First time in history, 11 players are selected for Khel Ratna; Mithali Raj is on the list

Abhijit Sen Gupta For the first time in the history of Indian sports, eleven names have been recommended for the honour of being awarded the Khel Ratna award by the Government of India. This step comes on the heels of the best ever showing by India’s sportspersons at the Olympic Games.
India had won seven medals including a gold in the Tokyo Olympics which concluded in  August.
The most deserving name is of course that of Neeraj Chopra who won the gold medal in the javelin throw. Sports fans of Hyderabad will no doubt be happy to see the name of Mithali Raj on the list too. The others are Ravi Dahiya, Lovlina Borgohain, P.R. Sreejesh, Sunil Chhetri, Avani Lekhara, Manish Narwal, Sumit Antil, Pramod Bhagat and Krishna Nagar.
The award which is officially known as the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award used to be called the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award before Prime Minister Narendra Modi renamed it in a move that created some controversy in August last. It is the highest ranking award for Indian sportspersons and is awarded every year by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. As of now, the award carries a medallion, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh.
India had sent its largest ever contingent to the Tokyo Olympics and the players brought home a bagful of medals. Even the para athletes (paralympians as they are called) did well and deservedly five of them are on the list.
The most glamourous name is that of Neeraj Chopra the javelin expert whose throw of 87.58 metres gave him the gold medal in Tokyo. India’s veteran athlete, the late Milkha Singh, had for many years expressed a desire to see an Indian athlete winning a gold medal in the track and field events of the Olympic Games. Sadly, he passed away a few months before Neeraj accomplished the feat.