Indian football team captain Sunil Chhetri is set to receive the Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna. The forward is going to become the first footballer to be given the award. Chhetri is well among the list of the greatest footballers the country has ever produced.
The Khel Ratna is given to athletes who have achieved sporting excellence in their fields. It is the highest sporting honour that can be given to a sportsperson in India. The prize money given out is worth 25 lakh rupees.
It was first awarded in 1991/92, and was given out to chess legend Vishwanathan Anand. Sunil Chhetri is among a slew of other talented and accomplished sportspersons to be nominated for the award. It will be presented on November 13 by the current President of India, Ram Nath Kovind.
Neeraj Chopra, Lovlina Borgohain, Sreejesh PR and Ravi Kumar are amongst the other athletes who have been shortlisted to receive the honour. Paralympians Avani Lekhara, Sumit Antil, Pramod Bhagat, Krishna Nagar, Manish Narwal, cricketer Mithali Raj and hockey player Manpreet Singh complete the list of nominees for the Khel Ratna award.
Chhetri has made 125 appearances for the Indian national team, and has scored 80 goals for them. He has been named the Indian footballer of the year seven times throughout his career. The talismanic forward made his debut for India in 2005, and has led them to several accolades over the years, such as the South Asian Championship, the AFC Challenge Cup and the Intercontinental Cup.
