There’s no denying the fact that 2020 was one of the most challenging years in the lives of many. The fact that life suddenly turned from physical to virtual in a blip. As a result of which, many events which were supposed to be held physically were also transferred to the virtual medium. One such major award function was the commemoration of the National Sports Award 2020.
Congratulations to all the Awardees of Khel Ratna 2020, Arjuna Award 2020, Dronacharya Award 2020 (Lifetime & Regular category).
Wishing you even greater success ahead !#NationalSportsAward2020 pic.twitter.com/hFOiUUSWkm
— Anurag Thakur (@ianuragthakur) November 1, 2021
After hosting the ceremony virtually in 2020, India’s Sports Minister Anurag Thakur physically handed over the trophies to the winner of the 2020 award on Monday. The winners had already received their cash awards but were yet to collect their trophies, therefore the ceremony was arranged. The awardees who attended the ceremony included the likes of Women’s Hockey captain Rani Rampal, Wrestler Vinesh Phogat, and 2016 Paralympics gold winner Thangavelu Mariyappan. All of them were handed the prestigious Khel Ratna award. While the Tokyo Olympics bronze-winning boxer Lovlina Borgohain, Indian pace bowler Ishant Sharma, women sprinter Dutee Chand and Archer Atanu Das, alongside shuttlers Swatik Sairaj Ranikireddy and Chirag Chandrasekar Shetty, among others received the Arjuna award.
According to PTI, Thakur gave a speech in which he highlighted the importance of recognin sing the efforts of athletes saying, “The national sports award is a prestigious award that is won by athletes after years of dedication and hard work. Congratulations to all the awardees and the very best for their future events. The journey of the awardees doesn’t end here, there is more to be achieved.” The event was also attended by Sports Secretary Sujata Chaturvedi, Youth Affairs Secretary Usha Sharma, and top SAI officials.
