Trio shine bright at awards gala

New Delhi: In the aftermath of their superlative show at the Rio Olympics, honours, gifts, cash rewards have poured in for P.V. Sindhu, Sakshi Malik and Dipa Karmakar. Monday was another day of celebration of their powers in their respective field of sport.

The trio hogged the limelight at the national sports awards ceremony, when they along with shooter Jitu Rai were conferred the country’s highest sporting honour — the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna by President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan here.

For the first time, four athletes were awarded the Khel Ratna. In 2009, three — boxers Vijender Singh and M.C. Mary Kom and wrestler Sushil Kumar — had received this award.

Sindhu flashed a big smile when asked for pictures. “I am very happy and feel blessed. It’s great to win the Khel Ratna a few days after I won the silver. I dedicate this to the hard work put in not only by me but my coach Gopi sir and my parents,” she said.

“This is just the start. I hope this will be the stepping stone for many moremedals,” she added. Sakshi, chased for bytes and photos throughout, could not just hide her emotions. “To be a Khel Ratna was beyond my wildest dreams. These are moments for which we athletes work so hard,” said the Haryana grappler.

The happy scenes notwithstanding, Vinesh Phogat, sitting in a wheelchair, was deep in thought in one corner. The disappointment of bowing out of the Games with a knee injury, perhaps, was still fresh in her mind. “It has been a very painful period both physically and mentally. But I am so moved to see the love and support of people all around me,” the wrestler said.