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| Sania Mirza, who is preparing for the tournament, had flown in just to receive the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award (Video below) |
Staff correspondent, August 29, 2015, NewsCrunch
Tennis star Sania Mirza made it a point to be in New Delhi to personally collect her Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, two days ahead of the US Open, which starts on Monday.
Sania Mirza, who is preparing for the tournament, had flown in just to receive the award.
Tennis star Sania Mirza made it a point to be in New Delhi to personally collect her Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, two days ahead of the US Open, which starts on Monday.
Sania Mirza, who is preparing for the tournament, had flown in just to receive the award.
The President awarded Sania Mirza the country's highest sporting honour in a glittering ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
A short video shows Sania, who came in a maroon saree and blue blazer, standing in attention as her citation is read. She walks up to the stage to receive her award.
The packed audience at the Darbar hall broke into a thunderous applause as she collected her medal, certificate and a cash prize of Rs. 7.5 lakh.
It is common for sportspersons to give the award ceremonies a miss. It is rare for anyone, who is on the verge of a major tournament, to turn up for the presentation ceremony.
For the record, Arjuna awardees cricketer Rohit Sharma, boxer Mandeep Jangra and quarter miler M R Poovamma did not turn for the event as they are professionally engaged at the moment.