Ace Sprinter Dutee Chand Nominated For Prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

The Sports and Youth services department of the Odisha government has nominated noted sports personalities from the state for the National Sports Awards 2021. The fastest woman of India - Dutee Chand has reportedly been nominated for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, which is notably the highest sporting honor in India.

In August last year, the ace sprinter was conferred with the prestigious Arjuna Award for the year 2020. For Arjuna award this year, the sports department has nominated veteran hockey defender Birendra Lakra for his outstanding performance in sports.

The department has nominated former sprinter and Olympian, Anuradha Biswal for the esteemed Dhyan Chand Award, for lifetime achievement in sports and games. On the other hand, illustrious hockey coach Kalu Charan Choudhury has been nominated for the Dronacharya Award which is an award conferred to outstanding coaches.

Odisha government has also nominated KIIT (Deemed to be University) and Odisha Mining Corporation for ‘Rashtriya Khel Prostahan Puraskar’ for playing a major role in nurturing the budding sports talents in the state. It is pertinent to mention that ‘National Sports Award’ is presented in various categories by the Sports Ministry of the Government of India on the occasion of ‘National Sports Day’ on August 29 every year.