BAI recommends Sai Praneeth and Kidambi Srikanth for 2021 Khel Ratna Award: Report

The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has recommended the names of Kidambi Srikanth and B. Sai Praneeth for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award this year. BAI has also nominated Prannoy HS, Pranaav Jerry Chopra, and Sameer Verma for the Arjuna Award.

Sources within BAI told ANI, "This time we have given two names (Kidambi Srikanth and Sai Praneeth) for the Khel Ratna award and for the Arjuna Award; we have recommended Prannoy HS, Pranaav Jerry Chopra, and Sameer Verma."

Sai Praneeth & Kidambi Srikanth recommended for top honours

Among other achievements, Sai Praneeth had won a bronze medal at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championship in 2019 and was honoured with the Arjuna Award in the same year. He is also the only Indian men's singles shuttler to have qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Srikanth Kidambi was ranked world number 1 by the BWF in April 2018. He has also won a gold medal in the mixed team event and a silver medal in the men's singles event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. He was also awarded the Arjuna Award in 2015 and the Padma Shri in 2018 as he was the only Indian to win four Super Series titles in a calendar year in 2017.  However, Srikanth has missed out on the opportunity to represent India at the Tokyo Olympics later this month owing to the cancellation of the Singapore Open. Previously, badminton players Pullela Gopichand and Saina Nehwal have been awarded the Khel Ratna Award in 2001 and 2010 respectively.

Change in submission dates for recommendations

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports had earlier decided to extend the last date of submission of application for the upcoming National Sports Awards 2021. Besides recommendations from the national federations, athletes can also nominate themselves through online applications. The last date for submission is now July 5, whereas initially, it had been June 21. The nominations/applications from the eligible sportspersons/ coaches/ entities/ universities were invited for the award and they were to be e-mailed, as per an official statement from the ministry.

National Sports Awards commemorate Dhyan Chand's birth anniversary

The national sports awards are given away every year on August 29 to mark the birth anniversary of Indian hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand as the National Sports Day.

In 2020, five athletes were awarded the Khel Ratna award for the first time in the same year: Manika Batra, Vinesh Phogat, Mariyappan Phangavelu, Rani Rampal, and Rohit Sharma were the recipients.

(Image Credits: PTI/@paralympic_od/Twitter)