New Delhi: Trap shooter Ronjan Sodhi was recommended for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, while star cricketer Virat Kohli and World Badminton Championships bronze medal winner PV Sindhu were among the 14 sportspersons picked for the Arjuna award by the selection committee here on Tuesday.
Sodhi, though failed to make an impact at the London Olympics last year, is a former world number one and was a double trap gold-medallist at last year's Asian Games besides being a silver-medallist at the Commonwealth Games.
Sodhi will become the seventh shooter to be honoured with the Khel Ratna. It is the third time in a row that a shooter will be conferred with Khel Ratna as Gagan Narang got it in 20111 while Vijay Kumar along with Yogeshwar Dutt received the coveted title in 2012.
Apart from Sindhu, triple-jumper Renjith Maheshwary, who won a bronze medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games with a national record, and rising golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar were among the sportspersons picked for the Arjuna award this year by the selection committee headed by billiards legend Michael Ferreira.
This year's Arjuna awardees list features just one boxer, World Championship bronze medallist Kavita Chahal. The list includes quite a few women with veteran squash player Joshna Chinappa, former hockey captain Saba Anjum, paddler Mouma Das, wrestler Neha Rathi and shooter Rajkumari Rathore recommended for the award.
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award: Ronjan Sodhi.
The Arjuna awardees: Virat Kohli (Cricket), Chekrovolu Swuro (Archery), Renjith Maheshwary (Athletics), P V Sindhu (Badminton), Kavita Chahal (Boxing), Rupesh Shah (Snooker), Gaganjeet Bhullar (Golf), Saba Anjum (Hockey), Rajkumari Rathore (Shooting), Joshna Chinappa (Squash), Mouma Das (Table Tennis), Neha Rathi (Wrestling), Dharmendra Dalal (Wrestling), Amit Kumar Saroha (Parasports).
