Deepa Malik Basks In Khel Ratna Glory, Bajrang Punia Misses Ceremony© sports.ndtv.com

Deepa Malik Basks In Khel Ratna Glory, Bajrang Punia Misses Ceremony

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Malik became only the second para-athlete after double Paralympic gold-medallist javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia, who received the recognition in 2017, to have won the prestigious award. At 49, she also became the oldest athlete ever to have claimed the honour.

World Championships bronze-medallist shuttler B Sai Praneeth, woman cricketer Poonam Yadav, Asian Games gold-winner heptathlete Swapna Barman, footballer Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, two-time world silver-medallist boxer Sonia Lather, Asian Games silver-medallist equestrian Fouaad Mirza, motorsports ace Gaurav Gill and Kabaddi captain Ajay Thakur were among the 19 sportspersons who received the Arjuna Award from President Ram Nath Kovind here.

Malik became fourth-time lucky as she was ignored for the award for the past three years, leading her to question and criticise the decision.