SUNDAY, MAY 05, 2024
PTI, NEW DELHI: Bhakti Kulkrani, Goa’s chess queen, received the Arjuna award at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday.
She is the first non-footballer from the state to be conferred the honour. Bhakti is also the first Goan woman to win the prestigious award.
Communicating from New Delhi, she said, “I am honoured with this Prestigious Arjuna Award. Thanks to all and now I feel my responsibility has increased and will give my best to win many more medals for our country. This is a dream-come-true moment.”
Table tennis legend Achanta Sharath Kamal was bestowed with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, the country’s highest sporting honour.
The awards were given away by President Droupadi Murmu in a glittering National Sports Awards ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Wednesday.
While Sharath is the lone Khel Ratna award recipient, 25 sportspersons, including shuttlers Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, woman boxer Nikhat Zareen, track and field athletes Eldhose Paul and Avinash Sable, were conferred with the Arjuna Award.
The creme de la creme of Indian sports were recognised for their achievements in the past few years at a specially organised ceremony.
The event is traditionally held every year to commemorate the birth anniversary of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand on August 29. But last year also, the event was held on another date.
The star attraction of the ceremony was Sharath, who received his Khel Ratna award amid thunderous applause from the select dignitaries present at the Durbar Hall.
The Khel Ratna is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performances by a sportsperson over a period of previous four years. It carries a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh, a medal and a scroll of honour. The Arjuna award carries a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh, a bronze statue and a scroll of honour.
