NATIONAL SPORTS AWARDS 2018: Mirabai Chanu and Virat Kohli to get Khel Ratna
National Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of four year, Arjuna Award is given for consistency outstanding performance for four years, Dronacharya Award for coaches for producing medal winners at prestigious International sports events, Dhyan Chand Award for life time contribution to sports development and Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar is given to the corporate entities (both in private and public sector) and individuals who have played a visible role in the area of sports promotion and development. Overall top performing university in inter-university tournaments is given Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy.
A large number of nominations were received for these awards this year, which were considered by the Selection Committees consisting of former Olympian, Arjuna Awardees, Dronacharya Awardees, Dhyan Chand Awardees, Sport Journalists/ Experts/ Commentators and sports administrators. Selection Committee for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Awards was headed by Justice (Ms.) Indermeet Kaur Kochhar (Former Judge of High Court of Delhi High Court). Selection Committee for Dronacharya Awards and Dhyan Chand Awards was headed by Justice Mukul Mudgal (Former Chief Justice, High Court of Punjab & Haryana High Court). Selection Committee for Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar was headed by Rahul Bhatnagar, Secretary (Sports). Selection Committee for MAKA Trophy was headed byAshok Kumar, former Olympian.
Based on the recommendations of the Committee and after due scrutiny, the Government has decided to confer awards upon the following sportspersons, coaches and entities:
(i) Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna 2018
| S. No. | Name of the Sportsperson | Discipline |
| 1. | S. Mirabai Chanu | Weightlifting |
| 2. | Virat Kohli | Cricket |
(ii) Dronacharya Awards 2018
| S. No. | Name of the Coach | Discipline |
| 1. | Subedar Chenanda Achaiah Kuttappa | Boxing |
| 2. | Vijay Sharma | Weightlifting |
| 3. | A. Srinivasa Rao | Table Tennis |
| 4. | Sukhdev Singh Pannu | Athletics |
| 5. | Clarence Lobo | Hockey (Life Time) |
| 6. | Tarak Sinha | Cricket (Life Time) |
| 7. | Jiwan Kumar Sharma | Judo (Life Time) |
| 8. | V.R. Beedu | Athletics (Life Time) |
(iii) Arjuna Awards 2018
| S. No. | Name of the Sportsperson | Discipline |
| 1. | Neeraj Chopra | Athletics |
| 2. | Naib Subedar Jinson Johnson | Athletics |
| 3. | Hima Das | Athletics |
| 4. | Nelakurthi Sikki Reddy | Badminton |
| 5. | Subedar Satish Kumar | Boxing |
| 6. | Smriti Mandhana | Cricket |
| 7. | Shubhankar Sharma | Golf |
| 8. | Manpreet Singh | Hockey |
| 9. | Savita | Hockey |
| 10. | Col. Ravi Rathore | Polo |
| 11. | Rahi Sarnobat | Shooting |
| 12. | Ankur Mittal | Shooting |
| 13. | Shreyasi Singh | Shooting |
| 14. | Manika Batra | Table Tennis |
| 15. | G. Sathiyan | Table Tennis |
| 16. | Rohan Bopanna | Tennis |
| 17. | Sumit | Wrestling |
| 18. | Pooja Kadian | Wushu |
| 19. | Ankur Dhama | Para-Athletics |
| 20. | Manoj Sarkar | Para-Badminton |
(iv) Dhyan Chand Award 2018
| S. No. | Name of the Sportsperson | Discipline |
| 1. | Satyadev Prasad | Archery |
| 2. | Bharat Kumar Chetri | Hockey |
| 3. | Bobby Aloysius | Athletics |
| 4. | Chougale Dadu Dattatray | Wrestling |
(vi) Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 2018
| S. No. | Category | Name of the entity |
| 1. | Identification and Nurturing of Budding & Young Talent | Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited |
| 2. | Encouragement to Sports through Corporate Social Responsibility | JSW Sports |
| 3. | Sports for Development | Isha Outreach |
(vii) Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy 2017-18:
Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar
The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at a specially organized function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on 25th September, 2018.
Apart from a medal and a citation, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardee will receive a cash prize of Rs. 7.5 lakh. Arjuna, Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand Awardees will receive statuettes, certificates and cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh each. A trophy and citation is given to the entity in the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar, 2018. Recipients of Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar will be given Trophies and certificates. Overall top performing university in inter-university tournaments will be given MAKA Trophy, award money of Rs. 10 lakh and certificate.
