India’s highest honour given for achievement in sports is ‘The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna’ (RGKR) . ‘Khel Ratna’ literally mean ‘sports gem’ in Hindi. It is named after the late Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India.
It carries a medal, a scroll of honour and a substantial cash component. Up to 2004–05, the cash component was Rs. 500,000/- (c.11,500 USD).
The money has been increased from Rs. 500,000 to Rs. 750,000.
Year Name of the Sportsperson(s) Sport Discipline
1991–92 Viswanathan Anand Chess
1992–93 Geet Sethi Billiards
1993–94 Not Conferred
1994–95 Cdr. Homi D. Motivala (Joint) Yachting (Team Event)
Lt. Cdr. P. K. Garg (Joint)
1995–96 Karnam Malleswari Weightlifting
1996–97 Nameirakpam Kunjarani (Joint) Weightlifting
Leander Paes (Joint) Tennis
1997–98 Sachin Tendulkar Cricket
1998–99 Jyotirmoyee Sikdar Athletics
1999–2000 Dhanraj Pillay Hockey
2000–01 Pullela Gopichand Badminton
2001–02 Abhinav Bindra Shooting
2002–03 Anjali Ved Pathak Bhagwat(Joint Shooting
K. M. Beenamol (Joint) Athletics
2003–04 Anju Bobby George Athletics
2004–05 Lt.Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore Shooting
2005–06 Pankaj Advani Billiards and Snooker
2006–07 Manavjit Singh Sandhu Shooting
2007–08 Mahendra Singh Dhoni Cricket
2008–09 Mary Kom (Joint) Boxing
Vijender Singh (Joint) Boxing
Sushil Kumar (Joint) Wrestling
2009–10 Saina Nehwal Badminton
2010–11 Gagan Narang Shooting
2011–12 Vijay Kumar (Joint) Shooting
Yogeshwar Dutt (Joint) Wrestling
2012–13 Ronjan Sodhi Shooting
2014–15 Sania Mirza Tennis