Bindra to be honoured

Aug.19: India’s ODI cricket caption Mahendra Sing Dhoni will walk the red carpet when President Pratibha Patil confers the country’s highest sporting honour the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award for the year 2007 on the National Sports Day on August 29.
Chosen for his role in the T20 World Championship victory in South Africa, followed by a successful trip Down Under, Dhoni will become the second cricketer after Sachin Tendulker to be honoured with the Khel Ratna.
Chitra K.Soman (athletics), Anup Sridhar (badminton),Arjun Atwal (golf) and Prabhjot Singh (hockey) are some of the prominent names among the Arjuna awardees.
Coaches Sanjeeva Kumar Sing (archery), Jagdish Singh (boxing), G.E. Sridharan (volleyball),Jagminder Singh (wrestling) have been chosen for the prestigious Dronacharya award. Meanwhile, ace shooter Abhinav Bindra, who won India’s first ever individual Olympic gold medal at Beijing, will be awarded prize money of Rs 50 lakh by the government during the ceremony. Bindra, who won the gold in the 10m air rifle event, will receive the award for the President at the sports ministry said in a statement here. The prize money, under the scheme of special award to medal winners in international sports events, was increased by Rs 20 lakh after sports minister M.S Gill requested the finance Minister to hike the sum in the wake of Bindra’s historic feat.