Olympic medallists Vijay Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt were today jointly conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award — the country’s highest sporting honour — while an unprecedented 25 sportspersons were honoured with the Arjuna awards in a glittering ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
A loud applause greeted the two Olympic heroes as they received their Khel Ratna Awards from President Pranab Mukherjee in the presence of a host of Ministers, dignitaries and sports celebrities. Cricketer Yuvraj Singh, who is preparing to stage a comeback after recovering from a rare germ cell cancer, also received a thunderous applause as he received the Arjuna award.
Pistol shooter Vijay had won silver in the 25m rapid fire event at the London Olympics, while Yogeshwar bagged a bronze in 60kg free style event. Both the medalists collected the trophy that consists of a medal, citation and cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh each. Hockey mid-fielder Sardar Singh, wrestler Geeta Phogat and Narsingh Yadav were among Arjuna Award winners this year.
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