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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Raipur (PTI): A Kolkata-Pune IndiGo flight made an emergency landing at Swami Vivekananda Airport in Chhattisgarh capital Raipur on Thursday after a woman passenger suffered a medical emergency mid-air, officials said.

After the passenger lost consciousness during the journey, the flight crew immediately alerted Air Traffic Control (ATC) and sought urgent medical assistance, following which a decision was taken to land the aircraft in Raipur, an airport statement said.

"Flight 6E-135 was diverted and landed safely at the Raipur airport at around 12 noon. Upon landing, a medical team arranged by the Airports Authority of India provided first aid to the passenger. She was later shifted to a nearby hospital by ambulance for further treatment," it said.

After completion of necessary procedures and the situation normalised, the flight resumed its journey to Pune at around 1 pm, an official said.

The entire operation was handled swiftly and in a coordinated manner, ensuring passenger safety and minimal disruption, he added.