It was really a great moment for cricketer Yuvraj Singh, as he was honoured with the Arjun Award at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday. Yuvraj Singh was the only cricketer to receive this award among the 25 sportspersons.
Further, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratan award was given to Vijay Kumar, the shooter, and Yogeshwar Dutt, the wrestler, both of who won medals at the London Olympics 2012.
On the other hand, ‘The Wall’ Rahul Dravid was also nominated for the award but was ignored, might be due to less proper communications between the BCCI and the award panel.
Earlier, master blaster Sachin Tendulkar received Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratan award in 1997-98 and MS Dhoni in 2007-08.
Crickter Yuvraj Singh received the award from President of India, Pranab Mukherjee. Yuvraj is making a comeback into the Indian cricket team after recovering from cancer, he is now selected for the Twenty20 team against New Zealand and ICC World Twenty20 championship in Sri Lanka starting from September 18.
Talking to media after receiving the award, Yuvraj Singh said, “I feel proud of now being known as an Arjuna Awardee. I am also excited because the President presented the award and it means a lot. It was a momentous occasion for me and my family.”
The time, when Yuvraj was nominated for Arjun Award by the BCCI, he said, “It’s an honour that BCCI has nominated my name for the Arjuna Award. This is the second time that my name has been nominated and I hope that I am lucky enough to get it.”
