Achievements of my team and family: Harmanpreet Singh on the investiture of Khel Ratna

After receiving the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, Indian men’s hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh on Friday said all the credit goes to his team and family. Two-time Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker, world chess champion Gukesh Donmaraju, Indian men’s hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh and para-athlete Praveen Kumar participated in Rashtrapati on Friday. He was awarded the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award by President Drupadi Murmu at the Bhawan. Harmanpreet Singh had participated in the Tokyo Olympics, where India won the hockey bronze medal. He was also nominated as FIH Player of the Year. Under his leadership, the Indian team won a bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.

Harmanpreet Singh told reporters that he was happy to receive the prestigious award.

Harmanpreet Singh told reporters: “I’m very happy and it’s a credit to my team and my family…This journey has been great because we have performed very well and won many medals in different competitions.” It was something…” he said.

Like other Khel Ratna awardees, Gukesh’s success story has become one of the major highlights of Indian sports in 2024. He made history in December by defeating China’s Ding Liren in the 14th deciding match of the FIDE World Championship in Singapore. The final match of the championship was tied 6.5 to 6.5, but Gukesh put in a great performance, winning 7.5 to 6.5 and becoming the youngest world champion in history at 18 years old. He also became India’s second world chess champion after Viswanathan Anand.

Para-athlete Praveen Kumar has won the gold medal in the men’s high jump T64 at the 2024 Paralympic Games.

Manu Baker achieved third place in the women’s 10m air pistol individual event, becoming India’s first female shooter to win an Olympic medal and breaking the record for India’s medals at the Olympics. Sarabjyot Singh and Baker then won a bronze medal in the 10m air pistol (mixed team), marking India’s first medal in a shooting team.

In her last competition, she narrowly missed out on a historic triple crown in the women’s 25m pistol shooting, finishing in fourth place. She missed the chance to become the first Indian to win three medals at the Olympics.

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