Former Indian opener, Virender Sehwag and former runner PT Usha have been included in the 12-member committee to pick the Khel Ratna and Arjuna awardees for this year. The committee will be headed by Justice (Retd) C K Thakkar.
Other members in the committee are, Mukund Killekar (boxing), Sunil Dabbas (Kabaddi), M R Mishra (Journalist), S Kannan (Journalist), Sanjeev Kumar (Journalist), Latha Madhvi (Para athlete), Anil Khanna (sports administrator), Injeti Srinivas (DG, SAI) and Rajvir Singh (Joint Secretary, Sports Ministry). The members will meet on August 3 to select the awardees for the year. In the meantime,
In the meantime, former shuttler and current national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand and outstanding Indian Cueist, Pankaj Advani have been included in the committee to select Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand awardees.
These awards are given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the government of India to acknowledge the exceptional achievement of players in the field of sports. The award includes a cash prize of Rs. 5,00,000, a bronze statue of Arjuna and a scroll.