Ace Indian shuttler and worlds number two Saina Nehwal has been chosen for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award by the panel headed by sprinter queen P T Usha on Friday.
The award, to be given away on August 29 by the President Pratibha Patil, consists of a cash amount of Rs 7.5 lakh, a scroll of honour and medal.
Saina said:
I am really happy. It’s unbelievable, a dream come true for me to get another within one year. National awards gives you a lot of motivation and it definitely has inspired me to achieve bigger glories for my country. I have done well in the last two years and the three titles that I won recently have really boosted my confidence. I am now preparing for the World Championship and I hope to win the title.
Saina was awarded the Arjuna Award last year and recently she was chosen as one of the six brand ambassador for the Commonwealth Games which will be held from October 3-14.
National coach and her mentor Pullela Gopichand said:
Its really a great news. She deserves the award. She had a fantastic last two years and she has put a lot of hard work and the sort of believe she has on herself, I’m confident she will achieve much more in her career. She is world number two now and the number one status will depend on her feat in the World Championship because, the other two important tournaments like Commonwealth Games and Asian Games unfortunately doesn’t count in ranking.
The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award was given jointly to the trio of Olympic bronze medallist boxer Vijender Singh, wrestler Sushil Kumar and four-time World champion woman pugilist MC Mary Kom last year.
