Being bracketed along with Mithali, Anjum and Jhulan is a big achievement: Deepti Sharma on winning Arjuna Award

Indian women's cricket team member Deepti Sharma has expressed her happiness on winning the prestigious Arjuna Award. She also mentioned that it was a big achievement for her to be in the same company as that of senior players like Mithali Raj, Jhulan Goswami and Anjum Chopra.

"Featuring in the same list as that of the senior players like Mithali di, Anjum di, Jhulan di, and Smriti (Mandhana) is a big achievement and a proud moment for me. I'd like to thank BCCI, the government of India for selecting my name for the award." Deepti Sharma said in an interview shared by BCCI's Twitter handle.

"It is an honour be on the Arjuna Award winners’ list that features some of the greats of #TeamIndia. I had worked extremely hard to for this award and this is a proud moment for my family and me" BCCI had tweeted.

It is an honour be on the Arjuna Award winners’ list that features some of the greats of #TeamIndia. I had worked extremely hard to for this award and this is a proud moment for my family and me: @Deepti_Sharma06 pic.twitter.com/BncFLg37zz

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 24, 2020

I had dreamt of winning the Arjuna Award: Deepti Sharma

The all-rounder, who holds the record for the highest ODI score for an Indian women cricketer, mentioned that she had dreamt of winning the Arjuna Award.

"I had waited for this award and had dreamt that one day I will win the Arjuna award. I have worked extremely hard for it since the beginning and so everyone is happy in my family. I am really happy and proud for winning the Arjuna Award," Deepti Sharma said.

Deepti Sharma was part of a 27-athlete list for 2020 Arjuna award that was announced last week. The winners of the award also included Indian men's team pacer Ishant Sharma.

Meanwhile, Indian opener Rohit Sharma was conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, which is the highest sporting accolade in the country.

The list of recipients for the National Sports Awards for 2020 was announced earlier this week.

The five names were recommended on Tuesday by a committee, which comprised the likes of Virender Sehwag and former Indian national hockey team captain Sardar Singh. The committee had convened at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) headquarters in New Delhi and arrived at a decision through the course of their meeting.