In a first, sportspersons receive Khel Ratna, Arjuna virtually

NEWDELHI: Wearing a PPE kit over her saree, women’s hockey captain Rani Rampal took tentative steps as she emerged from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre in Bengaluru on Saturday. After her car was sanitised, Rampal was ready to leave for the National Sports Awards ceremony at the Vidhana Soudha in the heart of the city, where the award winners were connected to the President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju at Vigyan Bhavan here.

This was the scene across 11 designated centres in various cities, where 60 of the 74 award winners were conferred the Sports Awards in a virtual ceremony.

They missed the grandeur of the President’s House, the applause at the Durbar Hall and above all, getting their trophies from the hands of the President. Instead, they had to undergo mandatory Covid-19 tests—some of them, including Vinesh Phogat, tested positive and had to miss the ceremony—, wear PPE kits at a few venues, and wear masks for the occasion. Some travelled long distances by road to reach the designated centres a couple of days before the ceremony and follow strict protocols.

The Sports Awards, which are conferred every year on the birth anniversary of hockey legend Dhyan Chand, had a different feel to it this time.

Hours before the ceremony, the death of former athletics coach Purushotham Rai, 79, who was to receive the Dronacharya (lifetime) award in Bengaluru, came as a shock.

LIST OF AWARDEES:

Khel Ratna: Rohit Sharma (cricket), M. Thangavelu (para athletics), Manika Batra (TT), Vinesh Phogat (wrestling), Rani Rampal (hockey). Arjuna: Atanu Das (archery), Dutee Chand (athletics), Satwik Rankireddy (badminton), Chirag Shetty (badminton), Vishesh Bhriguvanshi (basketball), Manish Kaushik (boxing), Lovlina Borgohain (boxing), Ishant Sharma (cricket), Deepti Sharma (cricket), Ajay Anant (equestrian), Sandesh Jhingan (football), Aditi Ashok (golf), Akashdeep Singh (hockey), Deepika (hockey), Deepak (kabaddi), Kale Sarika Sudhakar (kho kho), Dattu Bhokanal (rowing), Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary (shooting), Madhurika Suhas Patkar (TT), Divij Sharan (tennis), Shiva Keshavan (winter sports), Divya Kakran (wrestling), Rahul Aware (wrestling), Suyash Jadhav (para swimming), Sandeep Para (athletics) Manish Narwal (para shooting).