Saluting our sports stars
President A P J Abdul Kalam conferred the highest sporting honours -- the Khel Ratna and Arjuna Awards -- on the country's top sportspersons for their outstanding performances in 2004, in New Delhi on Monday.
Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, the country's only individual Olympic silver medallist since Independence, was conferred the highest sports award -- the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna -- amid roaring applause at the resplendent Ashoka Hall.
The Khel Ratna carries a cash award of Rs 500,000, a medal and a scroll of honour while Arjuna Award brings along Rs 300,000.
Rathore, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army, rewrote history books by winning the silver at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004.
"This award is a great motivation. Now the next step is the gold; there can be no looking back," a beaming Rathore said.
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Photographs: Sondeep Shankar/ Saab Pictures