New Delhi, India, December 21, 2023: India’s Asian Games men's doubles badminton champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were named winners of the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award on Wednesday, December 20.
India’s Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, announcing the National Sports Awards 2023, said the badminton duo, popularly known as "Sat-Chi", would be awarded the major prize from the President of India at a specially organised function at Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 9.
Satwiksairaj and Chirag won India’s first badminton gold medal at an Asian Games when they triumphed in Hangzhou, China. The men’s doubles pair also won the Asian Championships gold in April. They also secured three Badminton World Federation (BWF) titles this year: the Swiss Open, Indonesian Open and Korea Open.
The duo in October became the first doubles pair in Indian badminton history to be placed world number one in BWF rankings. Last year, the duo was a part of the country’s historic, game-changing Thomas Cup win. They also bagged medals at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham (gold) and World Championships (bronze).
The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is given for the most spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by an athlete over the period of the previous four years.
The National Sports Awards are given every year to recognise and reward excellence in sports. There are a number of categories with the Major Dhyan award being the highest.