NEW DELHI, Aug 24: Shooter Rajyavardhan Rathore was on Wednesday selected to receive India’s top sports award after he won the country’s first ever individual silver medal at last year’s Olympics.

Rathore, who finished on the podium at Athens in the double-trap event, was selected for the ‘Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna’ award for the year 2004 ahead of star cricketers Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.

“It gives me immense satisfaction to win the highest sports award and it will be an honour to receive it from the President,” said the 35-year-old armyman.

Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam will hand over the award to Rathore along with 14 others who will receive the Arjuna award, the highest sports award until the Khel Ratna was introduced in 1992.

Others to receive the Khel Ratna award in the past include cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar, tennis ace Leander Paes, chess player Viswanathan Anand and long-jumper Anju Bobby George.

India skipper Ganguly and stylish batsman Dravid, who are both past recipients of the Arjuna award, were nominated by the cricket board for the top award this year.

No cricketer figures even in the list of Arjuna awards as the selection committee rejected nominations for batsmen Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif.

Rising women’s tennis star Sania Mirza, golfer Jyoti Randhawa and field hockey player Deepak Thakur are the prominent names in the list of Arjuna awardees.

The Khel Ratna carries a cash prize of 500,000 rupees (USD11,450) and the Arjuna award Rs. 300,000 rupees (USD6,900).—Reuters