Satwik and Chirag nominated for Khel Ratna

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the first Indian badminton doubles pair to reach No. 1 in BWF rankings, were recommended for the country’s highest sporting honour – Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna. Cricketer Mohammed Shami, one of the standout performers in India’s ODI World Cup campaign, was nominated for Arjuna award for this year by a 12-member selection committee, headed by retired Supreme Court judge, Justice A M Khanwilkar.
Satwiksairaj and Chirag were rewarded for their superlative performances in 2023, where they created records and rewrote history books. They not only rose to the top of the world rankings, but also won the Indonesia Open Super 1000, the Thomas Cup, a medal at the BWF World Championships and the country’s maiden gold at the Asian Games in Hangzhou.
Like the previous year when just table tennis legend, Achanta Sharath Kamal, was recommended for the Khel Ratna, this year, too, the selection committee chose to nominate the pairing of Satwiksairaj and Chirag as joint recipients of the award.
For the Arjuna, the committee recommended a total of 26 athletes, including Shami, whose name was added on a request by the Indian cricket board (BCCI) to the sports ministry.