National Sports Day 2023: List of Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Awardees
The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is regarded as one of the top honours in India and is presented to athletes who bring laurels to the nation by their stupendous display.
Published : Aug 29, 2023 11:52 IST
Updated : Aug 29, 2023 11:52 IST
The Khel Ratna Award better known as the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award (formerly Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award) is India's highest sports honour and is conferred upon athletes who bring glory to the nation by virtue of their astounding performances across diverse disciplines. The award is presented to athletes every year on the momentous occasion of National Sports Day on August 29.
The President of India presents the honour to a distinguished set of athletes at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The award carries the prize money of INR 25 lakhs, a medal and a certificate. Here is the complete list of athletes who have received the honour over the years till 2022.
| S. No. | Athlete | Sport | Year |
| 1 | Sharath Kamal | Table Tennis | 2022 |
| 2 | Manpreet Singh | Hockey | 2021 |
| 3 | Sunil Chhetri | Football | 2021 |
| 4 | Mithali Raj | Cricket | 2021 |
| 5 | Manish Narwal | Paralympic shooting | 2021 |
| 6 | Krishna Nagar | Para-badminton | 2021 |
| 7 | Pramod Bhagat | Para-badminton | 2021 |
| 8 | Sumit Antil | Para-athletics | 2021 |
| 9 | Avani Lekhara | Paralympic shooting | 2021 |
| 10 | P. R. Sreejesh | Hockey | 2021 |
| 11 | Lovlina Borgohain | Boxing | 2021 |
| 12 | Ravi Kumar Dahiya | Freestyle wrestling | 2021 |
| 13 | Neeraj Chopra | Athletics | 2021 |
| 14 | Rani Rampal | Hockey | 2020 |
| 15 | Rohit Sharma | Cricket | 2020 |
| 16 | Mariyappan Thangavelu | Paralympic high jump | 2020 |
| 17 | Manika Batra | Table tennis | 2020 |
| 18 | Vinesh Phogat | Freestyle wrestling | 2020 |
| 19 | Bajrang Punia | Freestyle wrestling | 2019 |
| 20 | Deepa Malik | Paralympic (shot put, javelin, others) | 2019 |
| 21 | Virat Kohli | Cricket | 2018 |
| 22 | Saikhom Mirabai Chanu | Weightlifting | 2018 |
| 23 | Sardar Singh | Hockey | 2017 |
| 24 | Devendra Jhajharia | Paralympic javelin | 2017 |
| 25 | P. V. Sindhu | Badminton | 2016 |
| 26 | Sakshi Malik | Freestyle wrestling | 2016 |
| 27 | Jitu Rai | Shooting | 2016 |
| 28 | Dipa Karmakar | Gymnastics | 2016 |
| 29 | Sania Mirza | Tennis | 2015 |
| 30 | Ronjan Sodhi | Shooting | 2013 |
| 31 | Yogeshwar Dutt | Freestyle wrestling | 2012 |
| 32 | Vijay Kumar | Shooting | 2012 |
| 33 | Gagan Narang | Shooting | 2011 |
| 34 | Saina Nehwal | Badminton | 2010 |
| 35 | Sushil Kumar | Freestyle wrestling | 2009 |
| 36 | Vijender Singh | Boxing | 2009 |
| 37 | Mary Kom | Boxing | 2009 |
| 38 | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | Cricket | 2007 |
| 39 | Manavjit Singh Sandhu | Shooting | 2006 |
| 40 | Pankaj Advani | Billiards and Snooker | 2005 |
| 41 | Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore | Shooting | 2004 |
| 42 | Anju Bobby George | Athletics | 2003 |
| 43 | Anjali Bhagwat | Shooting | 2002 |
| 44 | K. M. Beenamol | Athletics | 2002 |
| 45 | Abhinav Bindra | Shooting | 2001 |
| 46 | Pullela Gopichand | Badminton | 2000 |
| 47 | Dhanraj Pillay | Hockey | 1999 |
| 48 | Jyotirmoyee Sikdar | Athletics | 1998 |
| 49 | Sachin Tendulkar | Cricket | 1997 |
| 50 | Leander Paes | Tennis | 1996 |
| 51 | Nameirakpam Kunjarani | Weightlifting | 1995 |
| 52 | Karnam Malleswari | Weightlifting | 1994 |
| 53 | Pushpendra Kumar Garg | Yachting (Team event) | 1993 |
| 54 | Homi Motivala | Yachting (Team event) | 1993 |
| 55 | Geet Sethi | Billiards | 1992 |
| 56 | Viswanathan Anand | Chess | 1991 |