Former India all-rounder Suresh Raina on Saturday congratulated batsman Rohit Sharma, who will be conferred with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award on August 29. Taking to Twitter Raina wrote, "Congratulations brother @ImRo45, you truely (sic) deserve this. You have made India proud so many times. Here's to many more milestones!" The right-handed opening batter will become the fourth cricketer to be given the prestigious award. The other three cricketers who have won this award are Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli.
"Congratulations! The SHARMAAAAAS - Well done Ro for Khel Ratna and Ishi for Arjuna," tweeted India coach Ravi Shastri.
Apart from Rohit, Mariyappan T. (Para-Athletics), Manika Batra (Table Tennis), Vinesh Phogat (Wrestling) and Rani Rampal (Hockey) will be conferred with the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award this year.
Pacer Ishant Sharma and women all-rounder Deepti Sharma will receive Arjuna Award this year.
National Sports Awards which include the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, the Arjuna award, the Dronacharya award, and the Dhyan Chand award, are conferred on athletes every year by the President of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 29, the National Sports Day.
However, this year, the names would be announced by President Ram Nath Kovind virtually due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.