Sania Mirza received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna for her contribution to the sport of tennis. Mirza is one amongst two tennis players to receive the award, the other player who received the award was Leander Paes. Other players like Jitu Rai received the Arjuna award during the ceremony which was held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
While Vishwanathan Anand was the first player to receive the award in 1991-92, Sania Mirza has become the 28th player to have recieved the award.
This year 17 people won the Arjuna Award, and amongst those there were two kabaddi and two wrestling players. The two kabaddi players were Manjeet Chhillar and Abhilasha Mhatre, while in wrestling the two players were Babita and Bajrang.
Among the other awards there were only five players who won the Droncharaya Award, and three players who won the Dhyan Chand Award.
Award winners in 2015
Sl. No | Player | Sport | Award |
1 | Sania Mirza | Tennis | Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna |
2 | P R Sreejesh | Hockey | The Arjuna Award |
3 | Dipa Karmakar | Gymnastics | The Arjuna Award |
4 | Jitu Rai | Shooting | The Arjuna Award |
5 | Sandeep Kumar | Archery | The Arjuna Award |
6 | Mandeep Jangra | Boxing | The Arjuna Award |
7 | Babita | Wrestling | The Arjuna Award |
8 | Bajrang | Wrestling | The Arjuna Award |
9 | Rohit Sharma | Cricket | The Arjuna Award |
10 | K Srikanth | Badminton | The Arjuna Award |
11 | Swarn Singh Virk | Rowing | The Arjuna Award |
12 | Satish Sivalingam | Weight Lifting | The Arjuna Award |
13 | Santhoi Devi | Wushu | The Arjuna Award |
14 | Sharath Gaekwad | Para-Sailing | The Arjuna Award |
15 | M R Poovamma | Athletics | The Arjuna Award |
16 | Manjeet Chhillar | Kabaddi | The Arjuna Award |
17 | Abhilasha Mhatre | Kabaddi | The Arjuna Award |
18 | Anup Kumar Yama | Rollerskating | The Arjuna Award |
19 | Naval Singh | Athletics-para-sports | The Droncharya Award |
20 | Anoop Singh | Wrestling | The Droncharya Award |
21 | Harbans Singh | Athletics-lifetime | The Droncharya Award |
22 | Swatantar Raj Singh | Boxing-lifetime | The Droncharya Award |
23 | Nihar Ameen | Swimming-lifetime | The Droncharya Award |
24 | Romeo James | Hockey | The Dhyan Chand Award |
25 | Shiv Prakash Mishra | Tennis | The Dhyan Chand Award |
26 | TPP Nair | Volleyball | The Dhyan Chand Award |