Ishant, Sakshi Among 25 Athletes Recommended For Arjuna Award

AUG 18, NEW DELHI: India pacer Ishant Sharma, star pistol shooters Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary and Rio 2016 bronze medallist wrestler Sakshi Malik are among the 25 athletes who have been recommended for the Arjuna Award after the National Award Committee's meeting held here on Tuesday.

Ishant has played an integral role in India's stay at the top of the ICC Test rankings from October 2016 to May this year. He has been a core member of India's pace attack in Tests along with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, which has often been rated as the best in the world over the past two years.

Star men's doubles badminton pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have also been included in the list of recommendations along with veteran tennis player Divij Sharan. Recurve archer Atanu Das, table tennis player Madhurika Patkar also made it to the list.

The committee has recommended five athletes this year for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award -- star Indian batsman Rohit Sharma, decorated wrestler Vinesh Phogat, Indian women's hockey team captain Rani Rampal, table tennis star Manika Batra and Rio Paralympics gold medallist Mariyappan Thangavelu.