Free Badminton Queen of India Saina Nehwal by Renu Saran

statuette, ceremonial dress and a scroll of honour.
    The award is given to the veteran sportspersons of India for their lifetime achievement in their respective field of sport. It is also named as the Dhyan Chand Award for Life Time Achievement in Sports and Games. This is new award that is instituted by the Government of India in the year of 2002. The main objective of the award is to show honour to those sportspersons who have contributed a lot to their respective sports by their performance and still continue to contribute to the promotion of sports even after their retirement from the active sporting career.

    Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award
    The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna is the highest honour bestowed to a sportsperson for his/her achievements in India. The award was instituted in the year 1991-92 to provide honour a supreme national accolade to various achievers in the field of sports. The words Khel Ratna, literally mean Sports Gem in English. The award is named after the former Prime Minister of India, late Rajiv Gandhi. The award comprises a medal, a scroll of honour and a substantial cash component.
    Other Sports Awards in India
    Apart from the awards that have been discussed so far, there are some other special awards from the Indian Government that are being given to the medal winners in the international sports events. In this category of the award, the Government gives away some cash awards. These cash awards are given for winning medals in the international championships like the Olympic Games or the World cup or World Championships or the Asian and Commonwealth Games or Championships. The players who become victorious in the game of Chess and Billiards or Snooker as well as the junior sportspersons who win medals in the World, Asian and Commonwealth Championships, are also given these awards.
    Sports awards in India are bequeathed by the Government of India to honour the players who have performed very well in their field of sport. It is organised and conducted to enhance the spirit of players and recognise their skills and achievements.
    Awards won by Saina Nehwal
    Year 2009 - Arjuna Award
    Badminton champion Saina Nehwal was conferred with the prestigious Arjuna award for sporting excellence, in the year 2009 following her success at winning the Indonesian Open Super series title, apart from winning other prestigious titles such as the Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold. The Arjuna award was handed over to Saina by the President of India, Pratibha Patil at the presidential palace in New Delhi. The Arjuna awardee is given a statuette, a scroll of honour, ceremonial dress and a cash award of Rs. 5 lakhs.
    Saina Nehwal being felicitated with Arjuna Award
by former President of India, Ms. Pratibha Patil
at the presidential palace in New Delhi
    On receiving the Arjuna award, the then 19-year old Saina Nehwal dedicated the award to her parents and her coach Pullela Gopichand, and said that the award would motivate her to go for gold at the London Olympics in 2012.
    Year 2010 - Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award
    Saina Nehwal was awarded the “Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award” which is India’s highest award for excellence in the field of sports, following her terrific achievements in badminton in the year 2010. The Khel Ratna award consists of a bronze statuette, citation and cash prize of Rs.7.5 lakhs for the award winner, and is handed over to the sportsperson by the President of India.
    Hyderbadi shuttler Saina Nehwal, however, could not personally collect the prize from the Indian President Pratibha Patil gave on 29-Aug-2010 at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, as she had not yet returned from Paris, where she lost in the quarter-finals of the World Championships.
    Saina was almost an automatic choice for the Khel Ratna, due to her phenomenal rise in the badminton world as she rose to no. 2 in the badminton world rankings and had won 3 super-series tournaments in 2010, apart from winning other prestigious titles the same year. She