Devendra Jhajharia has become the first paralympian to be recommended for India's highest sporting honour -- the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna -- along with hockey star Sardar Singh.
Javelin thrower Jhajharia, the first Indian to win two Paralympic gold medals, was the first choice of the awards selection committee headed by Justice (Retd) C K Thakkar.
The committee has picked 31-year-old midfielder Sardar as its second nominee for the top honour and has suggested that both Jhajharia and Sardar be considered for the award jointly.
The 36-year-old Jhajharia's two gold medals came in the 2004 Athens Games and last year's Rio Paralympics and he set new world records on both the occasions. He also won a gold medal at the 2013 World Championships.
Sardar, on the other hand, has been a constant in India's fast-improving standing in international hockey.
The 31-year-old, regarded as one of the ace midfielders in the world, became the youngest player to captain the Indian hockey team when he led the side at the 2008 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup.
A recipient of the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India in 2015, Sardar has two Asian Games medals -- gold in 2014 Incheon and bronze in 2010 Guangzhou.
He also has two Commonwealth Games silver medals and was named in the International Hockey Federation's All-Star team twice in 2010, 2011.
"My hard work for the last 15-20 years has paid off. It is the biggest of all sporting honours and the credit for that goes to my teammates because without them I couldn't have achieved what I have," Sardar said.
Sardar's name became a topic of debate during the meeting today due to the sexual harassment allegation levelled against him by a Indian-origin British hockey player. However, his sporting achievements were hard to ignore for the committee.
Whether both Sardar and Jhajharia get the award or either of the two is picked, would be decided by the Sports Ministry in the next few days.
Arjuna Awardees
Besides the Khel Ratna, the awards selection committee has recommended 17 names for the Arjuna award.
Cricketers Harmanpreet Kaur and Cheteshwar Pujara along with Paralympian Mariyappan Thangavelu were among 17 sportspersons who will be getting the prestigious award this year.
Harmanpreet was rewarded for her performance at the recently concluded ICC Women's World Cup. The experienced batter smashed an unbeaten 171 runs off just 115 balls to help India beat formidable Australia in the semi-finals. That innings made Harmanpreet the record holder for the highest individual score for India at the women's World Cup. It is also the the second-highest score by an Indian batter in women's one-day internationals, behind Deepti Sharma's 188.
Pujara, who is currently playing his 50th Test match in Sri Lanka, has been in good form witth the bat in recent times.
Thangavelu on the other hand, won gold in the men's high jump T-42 category at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The Tamil Nadu athlete is India's first Paralympian gold medallist since the Athens Games in 2004. He was earlier awarded the Padma Shri on January 25 this year.
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