Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna Award

A 12-member committee assesses the performance of athletes in various international events, including the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Asian Games, and Commonwealth Games. After evaluation, the committee submits their recommendations to the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports for approval. From 1991 to 2021, the award was named after Rajiv Gandhi (1944–1991), the sixth Prime Minister of India.On that note, let’s have a look at the full list of winners of the Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna Award.

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Instituted in 1991–1992, the award was given for the performance by a sportsperson in a year. Based on the suggestions provided by the 2014 award selection committee, the Ministry revised the criteria in February 2015 to consider the performance over four years. The nominations for a given year are accepted till 30 April or the last working day of April with not more than two sportspersons nominated for each sports discipline.

As of 2023, there have been 59 recipients across 16 sports disciplines: athletics, badminton, billiards, boxing, chess, cricket, field hockey, football, gymnastics, para-athletics, para-badminton, para-shooting, shooting, snooker, table tennis, tennis, wrestling, weightlifting, and yacht racing.

Recipients of the Khel Ratna Award are selected by a committee formed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, based on their “spectacular and most outstanding performance in sports over four years” at the international level. As of 2020, the award includes a medallion, a certificate and a cash prize of ₹25 lakh.

The Khel Ratna Award, officially known as the Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna Award (formerly the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award), is the highest sporting honour in India. It is presented annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India, to recognize exceptional performances in sports.

The award’s first recipient was chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, who was honoured for the performance in 1991–92. In 2001, Olympic shooter Abhinav Bindra, then aged 18, became the award’s youngest recipient.

Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna Award winners

Since August 6, 2021, the award has been named after Major Dhyanchand (1905–79), an Indian field hockey player, widely regarded as one of the greatest field hockey players of all time, who scored more than 1000 goals over a career that spanned over 20 years.