New Delhi, Sep 25 : The BCCI on Tuesday congratulated skipper Virat Kohli and Smriti Mandhana on being honoured with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and the Arjuna award respectively.

Virat was conferred the highest sporting honour in the country by President Ram Nath Kovind at the National Sports Awards ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan here.

Smriti, the vice-captain of the women's T20I team, who was honoured with the Arjuna award, was absent from the ceremony as she is currently on national duty in Sri Lanka.

While Virat has successfully led India in different formats topping the batting charts, Smriti has been scoring heavily at the top of the order with much flair.

Congratulating the duo, BCCI acting President C.K. Khanna said: "National Sports Awards are given to recognise and reward excellence in sports. Both Virat and Smriti have been excellent and it is a proud moment for the BCCI to see them get these awards."

"Virat is the No. 1 batsman in Tests as well as ODIs and an exceptional leader. Smriti's batting skills have been appreciated by one and all and she has a knack of getting big scores outside India," he added.




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Jammu (PTI): Police on Tuesday recovered an aeroplane-shaped balloon marked 'PIA' in Rajouri district, officials said.

A red and white aeroplane-shaped balloon bearing the text 'PIA' with Urdu was found in Sarhoti village under the Dharamsal Police Station, they said.

Locals alerted authorities after spotting the object.

Cops from Police Post Teryath reached the site, secured the balloon, and seized it, they added.

Earlier, on February 23, two balloons with a Pakistani Rs 5,000 currency note and a US dollar attached were recovered from Gunara village in the Akhnoor sector near Jammu.