Neeraj Chopra, Ravi Dahiya, Lovlina Borgohain among 11 recommended for Khel Ratna
New Delhi, Oct 27: Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who became only the second Indian to win an individual Olympic gold at the Tokyo Games, and silver medal-winning wrestler Ravi Dahiya were on Wednesday recommended for the Khel Ratna as an unprecedented 11 athletes were selected for the country's highest sporting honour.
Boxer Lovlina Borgohain, who won a bronze at the Tokyo Olympics, seasoned hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh and woman cricket Test skipper Mithali Raj were also recommended for the Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna by the selection committee.
Iconic Sunil Chhetri also became the country's first footballer to be selected for the honour.
Last year, five athletes were picked for the award while four were selected after the 2016 Rio Games.
The announcement of the national sports awards was delayed in order to consider the performance of the para-athletes in the Tokyo Paralympics (August 24 to September 5).
Shooter Avani Lekhara and Manish Narwal, javelin thrower Sumit Antil and shuttlers Pramod Bhagat and Krishna Nagar, who all have won a gold each in the Tokyo Paralympics, completed the list of those recommended for the Khel Ratna.
The committee also picked 35 athletes for the Arjuna award, eight more than last year's number of awardees.
Cricketer Shikhar Dhawan, para TT player Bhavina Patel, para shuttler Suhas Yathiraj and high jumper Nishad Kumar are among those selected for the Arjuna award.
Members of the men's hockey team that won a historic bronze in the Olympics will also receive Arjuna award.
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Madhya Pradesh: BJP leader assaults blind woman in Church
Jabalpur: Anju Bhargava, vice-president of BJP's Jabalpur city unit, has come under sharp scrutiny, creating the ripples of political controvery in Madhya Pradesh, after a video surfaced online showing her physically assaulting a visually impaired woman inside a church.
The New Indian Express has reported that the said incident reportedly took place on Saturday (20 Dec) at a church in the Hawa Bagh area, which comes under the limits of Gorakhpur police station.
The video footage that has circulated widely on Monday shows Anju Bhargava, assaulting the blind woman in the presence of a police officer. In the video, Bhargava is seen shouting at the woman, twisting her arm and forcibly grabbing her face. The victim can be heard pleading to Bhargava to speak to her rather than resorting to physical violence. Also, we can hear Bhargava screaming, “will be blind in her next birth too”
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According to The Indian Express reports, Bhargava entered the church, with members of several Hindutva affiliated organisations, alleging that the visually impaired children were being forced into religious conversion; But, the students present at the church have flatly denied all the allegations.
An unnamed police officer cited in media reports states that there was no evidence to support claims of forced religious conversion. The incident has since intensified political debate in the state, with opposition parties demanding accountability and action against those involved.
