Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna - wikipedia Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award Awarded by Government of India Type Civilian Sports ( Individual / Team ) Description Description Highest sports honour in India Statistics Instituted 1991 -- 92 First awarded 1991 -- 92 Last awarded 2017 Total awarded 34 Cash award ₹ 7.5 lakh ( US $12,000 ) First awardee ( s ) Viswanathan Anand Recent awardee ( s ) Devendra Jhajharia Sardara Singh Award rank Arjuna Award → The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, officially known as Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in Sports and Games, is the highest sporting honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India who served the office from 1984 to 1989. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The recipient ( s ) is / are selected by a committee constituted by the Ministry and is honoured for their `` spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports over a period of four years '' at international level. As of 2017, the award comprises a medallion, a certificate, and a cash prize of ₹ 7.5 lakh ( US $12,000 ). Instituted in 1991 -- 92, the award was given for the performance by a sportsperson in a year. Based on the suggestions provided by 2014 award selection committee, the Ministry revised the criteria in February 2015 to consider the performance over a period of four years. The nominations for a given year are accepted till 30 April or last working day of April with not more than two sportspersons nominated for each sports discipline. A twelve - member committee evaluates the performances of a sportsperson at various International events like Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Asian Games, and Commonwealth Games. The committee later submits their recommendations to the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports for further approval. The first recipient of the award was Chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, who was honoured for the performance in the year 1991 -- 92. In 2001, sport shooter Abhinav Bindra, then aged 18, became the youngest recipient of the award. Usually conferred upon only one sportsperson in a year, a few exceptions have been made ( 1993 -- 94, 2002, 2009, 2012, and 2016 -- 17 ) when multiple recipients were awarded in a year. As of 2017, there have been thirty - four recipients from fourteen sport disciplines : Athletics, Badminton, Billiards, Boxing, Chess, Cricket, Field hockey, Gymnastics, Shooting, Snooker, Tennis, Wrestling, Weightlifting, and Yacht racing. The most recent recipients of the award are Para Athlete Javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia and Hockey player Sardara Singh. Contents 1 Nominations 2 Selection process 3 List of recipients 4 Controversies 5 Explanatory notes 6 References 7 External links Nominations The nominations for the award are received from all government recognised National Sports Federations, the Indian Olympic Association, the Sports Authority of India ( SAI ), the Sports Promotion and Control Boards, and the state and the union territory governments with not more than two eligible sportspersons nominated for each sports discipline. In case of cricket, the nominations are received from the Board of Control for Cricket in India and SAI is authorised to submit the nominations on behalf of all the de-recognised or under suspension National Sports Federations. The previous award recipients can also nominate one sportsperson for the discipline for which they themselves were awarded. The Government can nominate up to two sportspersons in deserving cases where no such nominations have been received from the nominating authorities. The nominations for a given year are accepted till 30 April or last working day of April. Selection process All the received nominations are sent to SAI and National Anti-Doping Agency for the verification against the claimed achievements and doping clearance respectively. Any sportsperson who is either penalised or being enquired for usage of drugs or substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency is not eligible for the award. A committee consisting of the Joint Secretary and the Director / Deputy Secretary of Department of Sports, the Secretary and the Executive Director / Director ( TEAMS ) of SAI verify and validate the nominations. The valid nominations are placed before the selection committee constituted by the Government. This twelve member committee consists of a Chairperson nominated by the Ministry, four Olympians or previous recipients of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna or Arjuna Award, three sports journalists / experts / commentators, one sportsperson / expert / administrator associated with parasports, one sports administrator, the Director General of SAI, and the Joint Secretary of Department of Sports, with not more than one sportsperson from a particular discipline included in the committee. When instituted in 1991 -- 92, the award was given for the performance by a sportsperson in a year. Based on the suggestions provided by 2014 award selection committee headed by Kapil Dev, the Ministry revised the criteria in February 2015 to consider the performance over a period of four years. The medals won in various International championships and events of the disciplines which include Summer and Winter Olympic and Paralympics Games, Asian Games, and Commonwealth Games are given 80 % weightage. The remaining 20 % weightage is given to the profile and standard of the events. For any other games not included in Olympic, Asian Games, and Commonwealth Games like cricket and indigenous games, the individuals performance of a sportsperson is taken into consideration. The sportsperson with maximum points is given 80 marks. Rest of the sportspersons are given marks in proportion to the maximum points. For team events, marks are given as per the strength of the team. Following are the points defined for medals at the given events : Points for winning medals for the performance during the last four years Event Medal 01 ! Gold 02 ! Silver 03 ! Bronze Olympic Games / Paralympic Games 80 70 55 World Championship / World Cup 40 30 20 Asian Games 30 25 20 Commonwealth Games 25 20 15 For a given discipline, not more than two sportspersons, one male and one female, are given highest marks. The committee may not recommend the award to the sportsperson with the highest marks across disciplines but can only recommend the recipient of the highest aggregate marks in a particular sports discipline. The recommendations of the selection committee are submitted to the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports for further approval. List of recipients Key † Indicates a joint award for the given year The first recipient of the award Viswanathan Anand is country 's first chess Grandmaster and a five time winner of World Chess Championship. Pankaj Advani is the only sportsperson to have won the award for two sports disciplines ; Billiards and Snooker. Awarded in 2017, javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia ( top ), Sardara Singh ( below ) are the most recent recipients of the award. List of award recipients, showing the year, and discipline ( s ) Year Recipient ( s ) Discipline ( s ) Refs. 1991 -- 92 Anand, Viswanathan Viswanathan Anand Chess 1992 -- 93 Sethi, Geet Geet Sethi Billiards 1993 -- 94 † Motivala, Homi Homi Motivala Yachting ( Team Event ) 1993 -- 94 † Pushpendra Kumar, Garg Garg Pushpendra Kumar Yachting ( Team Event ) 1994 -- 95 Malleswari, Karnam Karnam Malleswari Weightlifting 1995 -- 96 Kunjarani, Nameirakpam Nameirakpam Kunjarani Weightlifting 1996 -- 97 Paes, Leander Leander Paes Tennis 1997 -- 98 Tendulkar, Sachin Sachin Tendulkar Cricket 1998 -- 99 Sikdar, Jyotirmoyee Jyotirmoyee Sikdar Athletics 1999 -- 2000 Pillay, Dhanraj Dhanraj Pillay Hockey ( Men ) 2000 -- 01 Gopichand, Pullela Pullela Gopichand Badminton Bindra, Abhinav Abhinav Bindra Shooting 2002 † Beenamol, K.M. K.M. Beenamol Athletics 2002 † Bhagwat, Anjali Anjali Bhagwat Shooting 2003 George, Anju Bobby Anju Bobby George Athletics Rathore, Rajyavardhan Singh Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore Shooting 2005 Advani, Pankaj Pankaj Advani Billiards and Snooker 2006 Sandhu, Manavjit Singh Manavjit Singh Sandhu Shooting 2007 Dhoni, Mahendra Singh Mahendra Singh Dhoni Cricket 2008 No award 2009 † Kom, Mary Mary Kom Boxing ( Women ) 2009 † Singh, Vijender Vijender Singh Boxing 2009 † Kumar, Sushil Sushil Kumar Wrestling Nehwal, Saina Saina Nehwal Badminton 2011 Narang, Gagan Gagan Narang Shooting 2012 † Kumar, Vijay Vijay Kumar Shooting 2012 † Dutt, Yogeshwar Yogeshwar Dutt Wrestling 2013 Sodhi, Ronjan Ronjan Sodhi Shooting 2014 No award 2015 Mirza, Sania Sania Mirza Tennis 2016 † Sindhu, P.V. P.V. Sindhu Badminton 2016 † Karmakar, Dipa Dipa Karmakar Gymnastics 2016 † Rai, Jitu Jitu Rai Shooting 2016 † Malik, Sakshi Sakshi Malik Wrestling 2017 † Jhajharia, Devendra Devendra Jhajharia Para Athlete 2017 † Singh, Sardara Sardara Singh Hockey Controversies The 2002 selection committee headed by former football player Pradip Kumar Banerjee made twenty one recommendations for the Arjuna Award and two recommendations for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, athlete K.M. Beenamol and shooter Anjali Bhagwat. The government rejected the recommendations and asked the committee to cut down the list to comply with the award guidelines, where only one sportsperson for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and fifteen sportspersons along with one disabled athlete for the Arjuna Awards could be recommended each year. The committee revised the list to recommend Beenamol for the award over Bhagwat but also put a request `` to consider everyone ''. The decision spurred criticism for ignoring the achievements of the shooter and Bhagwat and the National Rifle Association of India expressed their `` disappointment '' with the decision. Later, the government accepted all the recommendations `` as an exception '' and jointly awarded Beenamol and Bhagwat for the year 2002. In August 2013, the selection committee headed by Michael Ferreira recommended sport shooter Ronjan Sodhi for the award, with some committee members questioning the process of selection. A committee member noted that discus thrower Krishna Poonia, and Paralympic athlete H.N. Girisha were shortlisted and Sodhi was not the initial choice. However, Girisha 's name was removed, and the final voting was done between Sodhi and Poonia. Poonia was accused of lobbying for the award by one of the committee member Anjali Bhagwat, but the accused met the then Union Sports Minister Jitendra Singh to promote her case and also rubbished the lobbying allegations. The Ministry conducted a separate enquiry by Secretary of Department of Sports and decided not to increase the number of awards `` to maintain the stature of the awards ''. Following an announcement, in August 2015, that tennis player Sania Mirza was to be awarded, a Public - Interest Litigation was filed in the Karnataka High Court. The petitioner, Paralympic athlete H.N. Girisha, mentioned that his performance was ignored by the committee. Girisha claimed to be a top contender for the award with 90 points, owing to his silver medal winning act at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in the Men 's High Jump F42 event. The petition mentioned that the points for Mirza 's Grand Slam titles from 2011 until 2015 should not be counted as the events were not a part of the list of sports events to be considered for the performance evaluation. The court withheld the conferment and sought replies from the Ministry about the selection process. The Ministry nevertheless presented the award to Mirza on 29 August 2015 amidst the case processing. Explanatory notes Jump up ^ The cash prize was revised from ₹ 1 lakh ( US $1,600 ) to ₹ 3 lakh ( US $4,700 ) in 2000, to ₹ 5 lakh ( US $7,800 ) in 2002, and to ₹ 7.5 lakh ( US $12,000 ) in 2009. Jump up ^ For cricket, there is no National Sports Federation recognised by the Government. Jump up ^ A World Championship / World Cup is generally organised every four years. For different cyclicities, proportionate marks are given. Jump up ^ The award for the performance in 2008 is being referred to as award for 2009. Jump up ^ Mirza has won 2012 French Open -- Mixed Doubles with Mahesh Bhupathi, 2014 US Open -- Mixed Doubles with Bruno Soares, and 2015 US Open -- Women 's Doubles and 2015 Wimbledon Championships -- Women 's Doubles with Martina Hingis. References ^ Jump up to : `` Scheme for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award '' ( PDF ). Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Sania Mirza conferred with Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award ''. The Indian Express. New Delhi. 29 August 2015. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Prime Ministers of India ''. Prime Minister 's Office ( India ). Archived from the original on 9 October 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014. ^ Jump up to : `` Arjun Awards 1998 announced Ms. Jyotirmoyee Sikdar gets Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award 1998 -- 99 '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. Retrieved 17 April 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Arjuna Awards to be presented tomorrow '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 30 August 2000. Retrieved 17 April 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` President presents Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna and Dronacharya Awards '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 29 August 2002. Retrieved 17 April 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Awards and other Sports Awards Announced '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 29 July 2009. Retrieved 17 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` 5 Interesting Facts About Abhinav Bindra ''. The Times of India. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Criteria for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, Dronacharya Award and Dhyan chand Award '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 3 February 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` National Sports Awards 2014 '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` National Sports Awards Schemes Revamped '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Committee for National Awards '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 21 April 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Why is Viswanathan Anand a chess legend ? ''. NDTVSports. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 15 November 2015. ^ Jump up to : `` Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awards ''. Sports Authority of India. Retrieved 18 April 2016. `` List of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award Winners ''. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, India. 30 August 2005. Archived from the original on 4 July 2006. Retrieved 17 April 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` National Sports Awards ''. Yachting Association of India. Retrieved 17 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` President presents Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna and Dronacharya Awards '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 29 September 2001. Retrieved 17 April 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Arjuna Awards, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Dhyan Chand and Dronacharya Awards given away '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 29 August 2003. Retrieved 17 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` President gives away Arjuna Awards and Dronacharya Awards '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 21 September 2004. Retrieved 17 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` President gives away Arjuna Awards and Dronacharya Awards '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 29 August 2005. Retrieved 17 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, 2005, Arjuna awards 2005, Dhyan Chand awards, 2006 and Dronacharya awards for the year 2005 Announced '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 23 August 2006. Retrieved 17 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` President gives away Arjuna Awards and Dronacharya Awards '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 29 August 2007. Retrieved 17 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna & Arjuna Awards announced '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 19 August 2008. Retrieved 17 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` Sports Minister Gives away Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award to Saina Nehwal '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Awards and other Sports Awards Announced '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and Arjuna Awards Announced '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 19 August 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna Awards '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2016. Jump up ^ `` Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna 2015 and Arjuna Awards 2015 '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` National Sports Awards 2016 '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` National Sports Awards 2017 '' ( Press release ). Press Information Bureau, India. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Arjuna Awards panel to prune list ''. The Times of India. New Delhi. Press Trust of India. 7 August 2003. Retrieved 14 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Beenamol to get Khel Ratna ''. Rediff.com. 9 August 2003. Retrieved 15 May 2016. `` Beenamol, Anjali to share Khel Ratna ''. The Hindu. 23 August 2003. Retrieved 15 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Beenamol to get Khel Ratna ''. The Hindu. 10 August 2003. Retrieved 15 May 2016. `` Anjali flays awards panel ''. The Tribune. New Delhi. 10 August 2003. Retrieved 15 May 2016. Srivastava, Abhaya ( 10 August 2003 ). `` Sidelined, shooter Anjali Bhagwat slams Arjuna award selection ''. Press Trust of India. The Indian Express. Retrieved 15 May 2016. `` Anjali slams Arjuna Awards committee ''. Rediff.com. 10 August 2003. Retrieved 15 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` 33 sportspersons honoured : Controversy set aside as stars get their due from the President ''. The Telegraph. 30 August 2003. Retrieved 15 May 2016. `` Anjali, Beenamol get Khel Ratna ''. Rediff.com. 22 August 2003. Retrieved 15 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Ronjan Sodhi 's Khel Ratna nomination irks Krishna Poonia ''. New Delhi : India Today. 14 August 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Khel Ratna controversy : Krishna Poonia hits back at Anjali Bhagwat ; says did n't lobby for award ''. New Delhi : NDTV. Press Trust of India. 21 August 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` New twist in Khel Ratna controversy : Anjali Bhagwat claims Poonia lobbied with her ''. Mid-Day. New Delhi. Press Trust of India. 21 August 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2016. ^ Jump up to : `` Awards and the controversy thereafter ''. Sportstar. 36 ( 36 ). 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Did n't lobby for award : Krishna Poonia on Khel Ratna controversy ''. New Delhi : India Today. 21 August 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Karnataka HC stays Sania Mirza 's Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award ''. Daily News and Analysis. Mumbai. 26 August 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Girisha Hosanagara Nagarajegowda bags first Paralympic medal for India ''. London : NDTV. Press Trust of India. 4 September 2012. Retrieved 14 May 2016. Jump up ^ `` Sania Mirza profile ''. Women 's Tennis Association. Retrieved 14 May 2016. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna recipients. `` Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award ''. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, India. Retrieved 18 April 2016. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna awardees 1991 -- 2000 Viswanathan Anand ( 1991 -- 92 ) Geet Sethi ( 1992 -- 93 ) Homi Motivala and Pushpendra Kumar Garg ( 1993 -- 94 ) Karnam Malleswari ( 1994 -- 95 ) Kunjarani Devi ( 1995 -- 96 ) Leander Paes ( 1996 -- 97 ) Sachin Tendulkar ( 1997 -- 98 ) Jyotirmoyee Sikdar ( 1998 -- 99 ) Dhanraj Pillay ( 1999 -- 2000 ) Pullela Gopichand ( 2000 -- 01 ) 2001 -- 2010 Abhinav Bindra ( 2001 ) K.M. Beenamol and Anjali Bhagwat ( 2002 ) Anju Bobby George ( 2003 ) Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore ( 2004 ) Pankaj Advani ( 2005 ) Manavjit Singh Sandhu ( 2006 ) MS Dhoni ( 2007 ) No award ( 2008 ) Mary Kom, Vijender Singh, and Sushil Kumar ( 2009 ) Saina Nehwal ( 2010 ) 2011 -- present Gagan Narang ( 2011 ) Vijay Kumar and Yogeshwar Dutt ( 2012 ) Ronjan Sodhi ( 2013 ) No award ( 2014 ) Sania Mirza ( 2015 ) P.V. Sindhu, Dipa Karmakar, Jitu Rai, and Sakshi Malik ( 2016 ) Devendra Jhajharia and Sardara Singh ( 2017 ) Indian honours and decorations Civilian National Bharat Ratna Padma Vibhushan Padma Bhushan Padma Shri Children National Bravery Award National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement National Bal Shree Honour Women Stree Shakti Puraskar Police President 's Police Medal for Gallantry Police Medal for Gallantry Central Ganga Sharan Award George Grierson Award Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan Award Moturi Satyanarayan Award National Award for Child Welfare Subramanya Bharathi Award By field Literature Sahitya Akademi Fellowship Sahitya Akademi Award Cinema Dadasaheb Phalke Award National Film Awards Other arts Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Lalit Kala Akademi Fellowship Sports Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Arjuna Award Dronacharya Award Dhyan Chand Award Science & Technology Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Kalinga Prize Gallantry Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak Jeevan Raksha Padak Medical Dr. B.C. 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Question: who was the first cricket player to have received the rajiv gandhi khel ratna award
Answer: The first recipient of the award was Chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, who was honoured for the performance in the year 1991–92.