NEW DELHI: Manavjit Singh Sandhu, who set the shooting ranges ablaze with his record breaking feats in 2006, was selected for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, the country's highest sporting honor.
The 30-year-old Sandhu pipped Indian cricket captain Rahul Dravid and star golfer Jeev Milkha Singh for the award which was officially announced by the Government here tonight. For the third year running, no Indian male cricketer was in the list of awardees with spinner Harbhajan Singh being the last Arjuna awardee in 2003.
Ace archer Jayanta Talukdar, athlete K M Binu, chess player P Harikrishna, shuttler Chetan Anand, woman cricketer Anjum Chopra and woman hockey player Jyoti Sunita Kullu were among the 14 selected for Arjuna awards 2006.
Sandhu won the gold medal in trap event at the 49th World Championships in Zagreb, Croatia, in July 2006, a feat which made him India's second world champion in shooting. He also won the bronze medal in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
The Punjab marksman becomes the fourth shooter to bag the prestigious honour after Abhinav Bindra, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Anjali Bhagwat.
The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award comprises a cash award of Rs 5 lakh, a scroll of honour and a medal while the Arjuna Award carries a cash award of Rs 3 lakh and a statute and a scroll of honour.
The Dhyan Chand and Dronacharya Awards also carry cash award of Rs 3 lakh. The awards will be given away by President Pratibha Patil at a function in the Rashtrapati Bhawan on August 29.
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