NRAI recommend Anjum Moudgil, Ankur Mittal for Khel Ratna

Double Trap world champion Ankur Mittal and Olympic-bound rifle shooter Anjum Moudgil were on Wednesday recommended for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). Mittal won his double trap world title in 2018 and got the Arjuna award the same year. Moudgil is a world championship silver-medallist, also from the 2018 edition and she was awarded the Arjuna in 2019. “The two had also been recommended in the same category last year,” the NRAI said in a statement. For the Arjuna awards, the NRAI has recommended the Olympic-bound duo of Elavenil Valarivan and Abhishek Verma. While Valarivan is world number one in women’s 10m air rifle, Verma holds the top position in men’s 10m air pistol. Also in contention for the national honour is 50m pistol world champion Om Prakash Mitherval. There were no recommendations in the Dronacharya awards category this year from the NRAI. The national sports awards are given away every year on 29 August to mark the birth anniversary of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand as the National Sports Day. Besides recommendations from the national federations, athletes can also nominate themselves through online applications. The last date for submission is 5 July.