Amravati district is a district of Maharashtra state in central India. It is the administrative headquarter of Amravati division, which is one of the two divisions in Vidarbha, out of total 6 regions in state of Maharashtra.
The Khel Ratna Award, officially known as the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, is the highest sporting honour of India. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India.
The Dronacharya Award, officially known as Dronacharya Award for Outstanding Coaches in Sports and Games, is sports coaching honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after Drona, often referred as "Dronacharya" or "Guru Drona", a character from the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata of ancient India. He was master of advanced military warfare and was appointed as the royal preceptor to the Kaurava and the Pandava princes for their training in military arts and astras. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Recipients are selected by a committee constituted by the Ministry and are honoured to have done "outstanding and meritorious work on a consistent basis and enabled sportspersons to excel in international events" over a period of four years. Two awards are designated for the lifetime contribution in coaching where the achievements in producing "outstanding sportspersons" over a period of 20 years or more are considered. As of 2020, the award comprises a bronze statuette of Dronacharya, a certificate, ceremonial dress, and a cash prize of ₹15 lakh (US$19,000).
Anjali Bhagwat is a professional Indian sport shooter. She became the World Number One in 10m Air Rifle in 2002. She also won her first World Cup Final in Milan, in 2003, with a score of 399/400.
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is a branch of the Government of India which administers the Department of Youth Affairs and the Department of Sports in India. Anurag Thakur is the current Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports followed by his Deputy Nisith Pramanik.
Prashanti Singh is a shooting guard for the Indian national women's basketball team. She is first basketball player in India conferred with National Civilian Award Padma Shri in 2019. She has been honoured with the Arjuna Award by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India in 2017. She has also been conferred with the prestigious Rani Laxmi Bai Bravery Award 2016–17 in the field of sports by Government of Uttar Pradesh.
Girisha Hosanagara Nagarajegowda, also known as Girish N. Gowda is paralympic high jumper from India. He was born with a disability in the left leg. He represented India in the 2012 Summer Paralympic games held in London in the men's high jump F-42 category and won the silver medal in the finals with a jump of 1.74 meters using scissors technique. He became the first Indian to win a medal at that event.[1] and the 8th Indian to win a medal at the Paralympics.[2]
Deepa Malik is an Indian athlete. She started her career at the age of 30. She is the first Indian woman to win a medal in Paralympic Games and won a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in shot put. She also won gold in the F-53/54 Javelin event at the para athletic Grand Prix held in Dubai in 2018. She is currently the world number one in the F-53 category. She has won accolades for her participation in various adventure sports. She is associated with Himalayan Motorsports Association (H.M.A.) and Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (F.M.S.C.I.). She has undertaken an 8-day, 1,700-km drive in sub-zero temperatures which included a climb to 18,000 feet (5,500 m). It was – Raid De Himalaya. This journey covers many difficult paths including remote Himalayas, Leh, Shimla and Jammu.
Suma Shirur is a former Indian shooter who competed in the 10 metre air rifle event. She is a joint world record holder in the event, having scored the maximum of 400 points in the qualification round, which she achieved at the 2004 Asian Shooting Championships in Kuala Lumpur. In 2003, she was awarded the Arjuna Award by the government of India. She is currently the High Performance Coach of the Indian Jr. Rifle Shooting Team. She is also the coach of 2020 Paralympics women's SH1 10m rifle gold and women's SH1 50m 3-position rifle bronze medalist Avani Lekhara On 30 November 2022, she was conferred the Dronacharya Award by the 15th President of India, Droupadi Murmu.
Sakshi Malik is a former Indian freestyle wrestler. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she won the bronze medal in the 58 kg category, becoming the first Indian female wrestler to win a medal at the Olympics. In 2017, the Government of India honoured her with the Padma Shri, the country's fourth-highest civilian award and in 2024, she became the first Indian wrestler to feature in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people in the world. She is a part of the JSW Sports Excellence Program, along with fellow female wrestlers Vinesh Phogat, Babita Kumari and Geeta Phogat.
Prabhakar Vaidya is an Indian physical educationist, academic and the honorary secretary of Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal, a century-old organization and a national institution working towards modernizing the traditional systems of Sports & Games. He was honored by the Government of India, in 2012, with the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri.
Gopal Purushottam Phadke was an Indian sports coach from Pune, in the Indian state of Maharashtra. He was a specialist coach of kho kho, a sports of Indian origin as well as of other sports disciplines such as swimming, Mallakhamb and Kabbaddi. After securing a diploma in engineering, he worked at the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), but left the company to take up sports coaching as a full-time job. He was reported to have provided coaching to physically handicapped children in swimming using a custom built tank constructed at his own expense and is credited with efforts in popularising the sport in other countries such as Australia. He was involved with Arya Krida Dharak Mandal, an organization which promoted kho kho and other sports and was a member of the advisory committees of All India Radio, Doordarshan and the selection committee of Dronacharya award. He died on 20 October 2009 at his residence in Pune, succumbing to liver cirrhosis. He received the Dronacharya Award, the highest Indian award for sports coaching, in 2000, the only coach from the sport of kho kho to receive the award. A former vice president of the All India Association of Dronacharya Awardees, Phadke was honoured by the Government of India in 2003 with Padma Shri, the fourth highest Indian civilian award.
Anitha Pauldurai is an Indian basketball player who has been the captain of the India women's national basketball team. She has been conferred with National Civilian Award Padma Shri in 2021. She has been also conferred with Chief Minister State award in the field of sports by Government of Tamilnadu in 2013.
Eliza Nelson, née Eliza Mendonca, is an Indian field hockey player and a former captain of the women's national field hockey team of India. She received the Arjuna Award in 1981 and the Government of India awarded her the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1983.
Ale Ahmad Suroor (1911-2002) was an Urdu poet, critic and professor from India. He is best known for his literary criticism. In 1974 he was honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Award by the Government of India for his literary critic work, Nazar aur Nazariya. In 1991 he was also awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award. He was awarded a special gold medal by the President of Pakistan on the centenary of the birth of Muhammad Iqbal.
Poorva Kiran Shetye, is an Indian International Swimmer, who is specialized in 50 m, 100 m and 200 m breaststroke. Poorva still holds the National Record at the National Games for 50 m Breast Stroke.
Pooja Surve is an Indian individual rhythmic gymnast. She represents India at international competitions. She competed at world championships, including at the 2009 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, Japan. In 2010, she was the only gymnast from India to be in the top 16 at the 2010 Commonwealth Games; she won Miss Exotic Performance award in World Cup Belarus 2010, becoming the first Indian to ever get this award; and she also participated in the 2010 World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships, held in Moscow.
Mariyappan Thangavelu is an Indian Paralympic high jumper. He represented India in the 2016 Summer Paralympics games held in Rio de Janeiro in the men's high jump T-42 category and the 2020 Summer Paralympic games held in Tokyo in the men's high jump T-63 category, winning the gold medal and silver medal respectively in the finals. He is India's first Paralympian gold medalist since 2004.
Padma Shri Piyong Temjen Jamir was a noted Hindi scholar and littérateur from Longsa village under Mokokchung district in Nagaland state of India. He was conferred the Padma Sri honour by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, in 2018 for the promotion of Hindi language and social work.
Pramod Bhagat is an Indian professional Para-badminton player from Vaishali district, Bihar. He is currently ranked world number 2 in para-badminton men's singles SL3, and won a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Men's singles SL3.
