Name of shooter Anjum Mudgil for Khel Ratna, then contender for Jaspal Rana Dronacharya Award

New delhi date. 14 May 2020, Thursday

The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has nominated veteran rifle shooter Anjum Mudgil for the country's highest sporting honor, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, while coach Jaspal Rana has nominated for the Dronacharya Award for the second time in a row.

According to sources, NRAI has nominated champion pistol shooter Abhishek Verma, Saurabh Chaudhary, Manu Bhakar and rifle shooter Ilavanil Valarivan for the prestigious Arjuna Award.

According to sources, Anjum Mudgil has been nominated for the Khel Ratna while NRAI has once again sent Jaspal's name for the Dronacharya award. He has always believed that he deserves this award and hopes that he will get this award this year.

Who is Anjum Mudgil?

Anjum, 26, started shooting in 2008 and was one of the first two Indian shooters to achieve a quota in shooting for the Tokyo Olympics. The Chandigarh-based shooter won an Olympic quota along with a silver medal in the 10m air rifle event at the ISSF World Cup in Korea. Last year, Anjum and Divyansh Singh Pawar won gold medals in the 10m air rifle event at the ISSF World Cup in Munich and Beijing. In Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, the player is given a medal, certificate and seven lakh fifty thousand rupees.

There was a controversy over Jaspal Rana

Last year, there was a controversy over not selecting Jaspal for the award and Abhinav Bindra, India's only individual Olympic gold medalist, criticized the panel for not selecting the veteran coach for the Dronacharya award. Jaspal, 43, who has won several gold medals at the Asian Games, has been credited with making young shooters like Manu Bhakar, Saurabh and Anish Bhanwala world-class shooters. The Dronacharya Award is given to players who have achieved exceptional results in international competitions and to players who have coached the team. A prize of five lakh rupees is given in this award.

Know, who is Abhishek Verma?

From an engineer to a lawyer and then a shooter, the 30-year-old Verma achieved his fifth Olympic quota for India in marksmanship. He achieved success by winning a gold medal in the 10m air pistol at the ISSF World Cup in Beijing in April last year. Verma won two gold medals at the World Cup, a bronze medal at the Asian Games and an Olympic quota.