Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan lead illustrious list of National Awards 2020 nominees

National Awards 2020 is a ceremony that takes place every year on August 29 in order to commemorate and reward the best athletes and coaches of the nation. The date August 29 has been picked to give away the rewards as it's the birth anniversary of hockey legend Dhyan Chand. It is also celebrated as the National Sports Day in India.

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Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan get nominated in separate categories for National Awards 2020

The ceremony takes place at the Rashtrapati Bhawan with the President honouring the recipients. Sporting associations across the country have nominated their top athletes for the National Awards 2020. The nominations for the awards have been made, however, there has been an extension made on the deadline, which could see more names being added to the list. 

As far as cricket is concerned, the Board of Control For Cricket in India (BCCI) has nominated Rohit Sharma for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award is the highest sporting honour of the in the country. It is an annual award presented by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The award is presented to the athletes for their spectacular and most outstanding performances in the field for a period of four years at the international level. 

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Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award nominations at the National Awards 2020

• Rohit Sharma (Cricket)
• Rani Rampal (Hockey)
• Neeraj Chopra (Javelin Throw)
• Amit Panghal (Boxing)
• Vikas Krishan (Boxing)
• Vinesh Phogat (Wrestling)
• Manika Batra (Table Tennis)

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On the other hand, Ishant Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan along with women’s team cricketer Deepti Sharma have been nominated for the Arjuna Award. The Arjuna Award is presented by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports as a recognition of outstanding achievement in sports. The award carries a cash prize of ₹5 lakh, a bronze Arjuna statue and a scroll. It is presented to the athletes by the President. Let's take a look at all the nominations for the Arjuna award.

Arjuna Award nominations at the National Awards 2020

• Shikhar Dhawan (Cricket)
• Ishant Sharma (Cricket)
• Deepti Sharma (Cricket) 
• Dutee Chand (Athletics)
• Arpinder Singh (Athletics)
• Manjit Singh (Athletics)
• PU Chitra (Athletics)
• Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty (Badminton)
• Sameer Verma (Badminton)
• Manish Kaushik (Boxing)
• Lovlina Borgohain (Boxing)
• Simranjit Kaur (Boxing)
• Vandana Kataria (Hockey)
• Monika (Hockey)
• Harmanpret Singh (Hockey)
• Saurabh Chaudhary (Shooting)
• Abhishek Verma (Shooting)
• Manu Bhaker (Shooting)
• Elavenil Valarivan (Shooting)
• Suthirtha Mukherjee (Table Tennis)
• Madhurika Patkar (Table Tennis)
• Manav Thakkar (Table Tennis)
• Mirabai Chanu (Weightlifting)
• Ragala Venkat Rahul (Weightlifting)
• Poonam Yadav (Weightlifting)
• Sakshi Malik (Wrestling)
• Deepak Punia (Wrestling)
• Rahul Aware (Wrestling)
• Sandeep Tomar (Wrestling)
• Naveen (Wrestling)

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IMAGE COURTESY: ICC TWITTER