In a dramatic turn of events ahead of the Assembly elections, Arjuna Award-winning athlete Swapna Barman has finally cleared the legal and administrative hurdles that had threatened to derail her political debut as a Trinamul Congress candidate from the Rajganj Assembly constituency in Jalpaiguri.
Internationally acclaimed Indian swimmer Bula Chowdhury broke down upon discovering that her Padma Shri, Arjuna Award, and other valuable medals and trophies had been stolen from her ancestral residence in Hindmotor, Hooghly district.
"Challenging times help you learn in life," says Paris Olympics bronze medalist in hockey, Jarmanpreet Singh as he reviewed the ups and downs of his life.
President Draupadi Murmu conferred the award on Mohd Shami and Parul Chaudhary, both residents of Uttar Pradesh, at a formal ceremony in New Delhi.
Five badminton players have been conferred the Khel Ratna so far; Pullela Gopichand (2001), Saina Nehwal (2010), PV Sindhu (2016), Pramod Bhagat (2021) and Krishna Nagar (2021).
The two had an incredible year, making it to as many as six finals and taking home five victories.
It was in March 2015 that Sandesh Jhingan made his debut for India in a FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifier play-off against Nepal in Guwahati.
The Sports Ministry decided against bestowing the Arjuna on Sakshi Malik as she has already been conferred with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.
HS Prannoy had launched a scathing attack on the BAI after the federation's list of recommendations went public.
An Arjuna and Padma Shri awardee, the former bantamweight boxer won the gold medal in the Asian Games in 1998 edition held in Bangkok.
