2011 World Cup-winning former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag, former hockey midfielder Sardar Singh, 2016 Rio Paralympics silver medallist Deepa Malik are among the names that make up the selection committee for the National Sports Awards this year, the Sports Ministry announced on Friday.
The committee, to be chaired by retired Supreme Court judge Mukundakam Sharma, also includes Arjuna Award-winning former table tennis player Monalisa Baruah and former boxer Venkatesh Devarajan, who won the Arjuna Award in 1995.
Selection committee to decide awardees
The committee will be tasked with selecting awardees for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Dronacharya Awards, Arjuna Awards, Dhyan Chand Awards, Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar Award and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy for the year 2020.
Officials from the Sports Ministry on the committee include Sports Authority of India (SAI) Director General Sandip Pradhan, Joint Secretary (Sports Development) LS Singh and Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) CEO Commander Rajesh Rajagopalan.
The mediapersons on the committee are sports commentator Manish Batavia and journalists Alok Sinha and Neeru Bhatia.
Two additional members, who have been Dronacharya Awardees, may be invited by the chairperson while considering the nomination for Dronacharya Award.
