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| Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awards 2018 |
The award was instituded in 1991-92 and the Chess Grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand was the first recepient of the prestigious award. In 2001, Abhinav Bindra (at the age of 18) became the youngest person to recieve the Khel Ratna award. In 2018, Virat Kohli and S. Mirabai Chanu received the award. In 2019, Deepa Malik and Bajrang Punia are nominated for the prestigious Khel Ratna Award.
The award recepients are selected by a committee consituted by the Ministry and honored for their "spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports over a period of four years" at the international level.
It is interesting to note that the shooting has highest number of awardees, nine in total, followed by Cricket, Weightlifting, Athlectics and Badminton, three each.
Selection Procedure For Award
First, nominations are made by government authorised sports federations. The previous awardees can also nominate a candidate in their respective discipline. Then the nominations are sent to National Antidoping Agency for scrunity. After clearance, the nominations are presented before a 12 member committee. The final recommendation list is prepared by a point system, based on performance and and standard of events. The recommendations are submitted to the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports for further approval.
List of Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Awards Winners along with their Disciplines
| Year | Awardee | Discipline |
|---|---|---|
| 1991-92 | Vishwanathan Anand | Chess |
| 1992-93 | Geet Sethi | Billiards |
| 1993-94 | Homi Motivala | Yachting |
| 1993-94 | Pushpendra Kumar Garg | Yachting |
| 1994-95 | Karnam Malleswari | Weightlifting |
| 1995-96 | Nameirakpam Kunjarani | Weightlifting |
| 1996-97 | Leander Paes | Tennis |
| 1997-98 | Sachin Tendulkar | Cricket |
| 1998-1999 | Jyotirmoyee Sikdar | Athletics |
| 1999-2000 | Dhanraj Pillay | Hockey |
| 2000-2001 | Pullela Gopichand | Badminton |
| 2001-2002 | Abhinav Bindra | Shooting |
| 2002-2003 | K.M Beenamol | Athletics |
| 2002-2003 | Anjali Bhagwat | Shooting |
| 2003 | Anju Bobby George | Athletics |
| 2004 | Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore | Shooting |
| 2005 | Pankaj Advani | Billiards and Snooker |
| 2006 | Manavjit Singh Sandhu | Shooting |
| 2007 | Mahendra Singh Dhoni | Cricket |
| 2009 | Mary Kom | Boxing |
| 2009 | Vijender Singh | Boxing |
| 2009 | Sushil Kumar | Wrestling |
| 2010 | Saina Nehwal | Badminton |
| 2011 | Gagan Narang | Shooting |
| 2012 | Vijay Kumar | Shooting |
| 2012 | Yogeshwar Dutt | Shooting |
| 2013 | Ranjan Sodhi | Shooting |
| 2015 | Sania Mirza | Tennis |
| 2016 | PV Sindhu | Badminton |
| 2016 | Deepa Karmakar | Gymnastics |
| 2016 | Jitu Rai | Shooting |
| 2016 | Sakshi Malik | Wresting |
| 2017 | Devendra Jhajharia | Paralympic Athletics |
| 2017 | Sardara Singh | Hockey |
| 2018 | Saikhom Mirabai Chanu | Weightlifting |
| 2018 | Virat Kohli | Cricket |
| 2019 | Deepa Malik | Paralympic Athletics |
| 2019 | Bajrang Punia | Wrestling |