Guwahati: Indian Sprinter Hima Das nominated for Khel Ratna award by Assam government. The 20-year-old from Dhing village in Assam is one of the youngest nominees for Khel Ratna this year, India’s highest sporting honour.
According to the news agency, Assam sports secretary Dulal Chandra Das sent the letter of recommendation to the sports ministry on June 5. Hima Das, India’s first track athlete to win a global title at U20 World Championship in Tampere, Finland, had a stellar breakthrough season in 2018.
She is the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal in a track event at the IAAF World U20. She will compete with ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra (who was nominated by Athletics Federation of India), wrestler Vinesh Phogat, table tennis player Manika Batra, women’s hockey captain Rani Rampal, shooter Anjum Moudgil, boxers Amit Panghal, Vikas Krishan and cricketer Rohit Sharma for country’s highest sporting honour.
The Indian athlete, Hima Das is already a recipient of Arjuna Award, which she received in 2018. She won a number of gold medals at smaller events in 2019 season where she was troubled by injuries.
The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, officially known as Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in Sports and Games, is the highest sporting honour of the Republic of India. The award carries a medallion, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh. In 2019, the honour went to Paralympian Deepa Malik and wrestler Bajrang Punia.
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