Hockey team captain Manpreet Singh to get Khel Ratna

New Delhi, November 2

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Manpreet Singh, captain of the Olympics bronze-winning Indian men’s hockey team, was today added to the list of Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna awardees, taking the total number of this year’s winners to an unparalleled 12. The ceremony is scheduled for November 13.

Manpreet was originally recommended for the Arjuna Award but he joined veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh as the second hockey player in the list of awardees for the highest sporting honour.

The other prominent Khel Ratna winners this year are Olympics champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and Olympics silver-winning wrestler Ravi Dahiya.

The Sports Ministry also approved 35 names for the Arjuna Award. A total of 10 coaches were picked for the Dronacharya Award. In the life-time achievement category, TP Ouseph (athletics), Sarkar Talwar (cricket), Sarpal Singh (hockey), Ashan Kumar (kabaddi) and Tapan Kumar Panigrahi (swimming) were picked for the honour. The winners in the regular category are: Radhakrishnan Nair P (athletics), Sandhya Gurung (boxing), Pritam Siwach (hockey), Jai Prakash Nautiyal (para-shooting) and Subramanian Raman (table tennis).

Gurung, besides being an assistant coach in the national camp, is also the personal coach of Olympics bronze-medallist Lovlina Borgohain, who will receive the Khel Ratna just a year after being bestowed the Arjuna Award.

Chandigarh’s Panjab University won the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy. — PTI