History of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award
The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award first established in 1991-1992 is awarded to athletes to recognize their extraordinary achievement in sporting activities. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is the Country’s top sports honor. The Khel Ratna accolade is presented by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. This prize is given yearly and was titled after Shri. Rajiv Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India who led the country from 1984 to 1989. The prize package includes a medal, a plaque, and prize money of Rs. 25 lakh.
The recipient of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is chosen by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports based on a parameter that encompasses the highest outstanding and remarkable accomplishment in the field of athletics and other sports during a 4-year period at the global level. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award was established in 1991-92. Rajiv Gandhi made significant contributions to sports when he served on the Asian Games organizing committee in 1982.
How are Awardees Selected?
The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award nominees come from a variety of sporting disciplines. Nominations are forwarded to SAI and the National Doping Agency for assessment of stated achievements and pharmacological clearances. A panel also verifies the nominations. The Joint Secretary and Director/Deputy Secretary of the Department of Sports, the Secretary, and the Executive Director of SAI make up this body. The Government judging panel is provided with all of the nominations.
The panel has 12 representatives, including a chairman appointed by the Government. 4 Olympic athletes or people who have received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award or Arjun Award, 3 sports journalists/experts, 1 sportsperson/expert, 1 sports administrator, the director-general of SAI, as well as the Joint Secretary of the Department of Sports, comprise the government screening panel’s 12 individuals.
All the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awardees Since 1992
| NAME | Sports Event | Years |
| Viswanathan Anand | Chess | 1992 |
| Geet Sethi | Billiards | 1993 |
| Homi Motivala, Pushpendra Kumar Garg | Yachting | 1995 |
| Karnam Malleswari | Weightlifting | 1996 |
| Kunjurani Devi and Leander Paes | Weightlifting, Lawn Tennis | 1997 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | Cricket | 1998 |
| Jyotirmoyee Sikandar | Athletics | 1999 |
| Dhanraj Pillai | Hockey | 2000 |
| Pullela Gopichand | Badminton | 2001 |
| Abhinav Bindra | Shooting | 2002 |
| K. M. Binamol, Anjali Bhagwat | Athletics, Shooting, | 2003 |
| Anju Bobby George | Athletics | 2004 |
| Rajya Vardhan, Singh Rathore | Shooting | 2005 |
| Pankaj Advani | Billiards and Snooker | 2006 |
| Manavjit Singh Sandhu | Shooting | 2007 |
| Mahendra Singh Dhoni | Cricket | 2008 |
| M.C. Marikom, Vijender Singh | Boxing, Boxing, | 2009 |
| Sushil Kumar | Wrestling | 2009 |
| Saina Nehwal | Badminton | 2010 |
| Gagan Narang | Shooting | 2011 |
| Vijay Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt | Shooting, Wrestling | 2012 |
| Ranjan Sodhi | Shooting | 2013 |
| Sania Mirza | Lawn Tennis | 2015 |
| P. V. Sindhu, Deepa Kamikar | Badminton, Gymnastics, | 2016 |
| Sakshi Bhai and Jitu Rai | Wrestling, Shooting | 2016 |
| Devendra Jhajaria, Sardar Singh | Javelin throw, Hockey | 2017 |
| Virat Kohli, Mirabai Chanu | Cricket, Weightlifting | 2018 |
| Deepa Malik, | wrestling, | 2019 |
| Bajrang Punia | Athletics | 2019 |
| Rohit Sharma | Cricketer | 2020 |
| Mariyappan Thangavelu | Paralympic High Jump | 2020 |
| Manika Batra | Table Tennis | 2020 |
| Vinesh | Wrestling | 2020 |
| Rani Rampal | Hockey | 2020 |
In 2021, the Khel Ratna Award was officially renamed as Major Dhyan Chand Award and was awarded to 12 sportspersons including the likes of Olympic Gold Medalist in Javelin Throw Neeraj Chopra, Cricketer Mithali Raj, Footballer Sunil Chhetri, Boxer Lovlina Borgohain