Virat Kohli, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award
Virat Kohli received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award on Tuesday. Image Courtesy: Getty

The India skipper, Virat Kohli lived one of the proudest moments of his sporting career on September 25th, as he received the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award from the honourable President of India, Ram Nath Kovind in New Delhi.

However, Kohli is the third cricketer to be awarded the Khel Ratna.

The first one to get was Sachin Tendulkar (1997) and then MS Dhoni (2007). The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had recommended Kohli’s name for the past three years. He missed out as the award had gone to wrestler Sakshi Malik, shuttler PV Sindhu, and gymnast, Deepa Karmakar. Moreover, in the last year, it went to the former hockey player, Sardar Singh and para-athlete, Devendra Jhajharial.

Moreover, after the announcement made for Kohli, he walked towards the stage. The camera was immediately headed towards Anushka and Kohli’s mother who were looking extremely proud.

Virat Kohli, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award
Virat Kohli received Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award

However, the veteran, Virat Kohli has scored 6147 runs in 71 Tests with 23 centuries, and 9779 runs in 211 ODIs, including 35 tons.

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“Humbled to have received the Khel Ratna from our Honourable President.  #JaiHind”

List of Award winners:

Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna: Virat Kohli, Mirabai Chanu

Arjuna Awards: Neeraj Chopra (Athletics), Jinson Johnson (Athletics), Hima Das (Athletics), N Sikki Reddy (Badminton), Satish Kumar (Boxing), Smriti Mandhana (Cricket), Shubhankar Sharma (Golf), Manpreet Singh (Hockey), Savita (Hockey), Col. Ravi Rathore (Polo), Rahi Sarnobat (Shooting), Ankur Mittal (Shooting), Shreyasi Singh (Shooting), Manika Batra (Table Tennis), G Sathiyan (Table Tennis), Rohan Bopanna (Tennis), Sumit (Wrestling), Pooja Kadian (Wushu), Ankur Dhama (Para-Athletics), Manoj Sarkar (Para-Badminton)

Dronacharya Awards: Achaiah Kuttappa (Boxing), Vijay Sharma (Weightlifting), A. Srinivasa Rao (Table Tennis), Sukhdev Singh Pannu (Athletics), Clarence Lobo (Hockey Lifetime achievement), Tarak Sinha (Cricket Lifetime Achievement), Jiwan Kumar Sharma (Judo Lifetime Achievement), V.R. Beedu (Athletics Lifetime Achievement)

Dhyan Chand Awards: Satyadev Prasad (Archery), Bharat Kumar Chetri (Hockey), Bobby Aloysius (Athletics), Chougale Dadu Dattatray (Wrestling)