For the first time, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is gearing up to honor as many as 4 sportspersons with the highest honor in the field of sports in India, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna.
2016 Olympian and shooting champion Jitu Rai was the first one to have been recommended for the Khel Ratna. Gymnast Dipa Karmakar was also recommended after she finished fourth in the vault final in Rio.
It was also decided by a meeting of the committee before the start of Olympic Games that all the athletes who win a medal would also be conferred with the prestigious award. So, the names of PV Sindhu, the first Indian woman to win a silver medal in the Olympic Games and the first badminton player, and Sakshi Malik, the first Indian woman wrestler to win an Olympic medal, were also added to that Khel Ratna list.
Since its inception in 1991-92, Khel Ratna has been awarded to only one Indian sportsperson each year with exceptions on few occasions. But, four sportspersons receiving the prestigious award is unprecedented in the history. Sania Mirza was the last recipient in 2015.