Who are the Khel Ratna Award winners of the 2000s?

The prestigious award is the highest sporting honour in India.

The Khel Ratna award is undoubtedly the most prestigious award in the sporting category. It recognizes the most outstanding achievements made by players in their respective sports. It acknowledges the tears, sweat, and sacrifice of an athlete. So naturally, it brings a lot of satisfaction for an athlete when they get their hands on this coveted prize.

So far we have already talked about the honorary awardees of the 90's decade. Therefore today we are going to look into the notable recipients of the 20th century. We will find out more about the elite winners from 2000 -2010. This list would comprise some mega stalwarts of this decade and generation. So without further ado let's dive in and learn more about these stars and their accomplishments.

Pullela Gopichand (2000)

Pullela Gopichand is now retired and working as a very successful coach. He has trained a multitude of sporting talents who have won medals internationally. The likes of PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Srikanth Kidambi, and Sai Praneeth among many others are all his pupils. However, before becoming a successful coach he was a very successful player.

It is said that not all successful players become great coaches however Gopichand was an exception. The Andhra Pradesh native won the All-England Open becoming the second Indian to do so. He beat China's Chen Hong (15-12, 15-6). Gopi has also won silver and bronze at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Championships.

Abhinav Bindra (2001)

It was long before Abhinav Bindra even became India's first individual Olympic gold medalist that he became a proud Khel Ratna award recipient. It was credited to his accomplishments as a teenager. Bindra participated in the 1998 Commonwealth Games at just 15 years old. Moreover, he was also the youngest Indian participant at the 2000 summer Olympics in Sydney.

In spite of his youthfulness and inexperience on the big stage, Bindra was undaunted. He achieved a score of 590, placing him 11th in the qualification round at the Olympics. Definitely not bad for a first-timer. He won a bronze at the Munich World Cup in 2001. In the process, he set up a new junior world record 597/600.

Apart from this he also won six more gold medals that year which made him a strong contender for the Khel Ratna award.

K.M. Beenamol and Anjali Bhagwat (2002)

K.M Beenamol became the third Indian woman to reach an Olympic semi-final at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The Kerala native also won silver and gold at the 2000 Asian Championships in Jakarta. She won it the 400m individual and 4x400m relay respectively. She added two more gold medals at the 2002 Asian Games in the 800m and 4x400m relay respectively.

Anjali Bhagwat's shooting career is laden with medals. That too not just a handful. To date, she has won 31 Gold, 23 Silver and 7 Bronze medals. She has set 13 new records in international competitions and has won 55 Gold, 35 Silver and 16 Bronze medals, with 8 new records in national competitions in India. Definitely not surprising to see a Khel Ratna in her kitty.

Anju Bobby George (2003)

The 9th World Championships in athletics in Paris witnessed something unforeseen. A lanky Indian girl jumped high and landed a perfect drop to make a total of 6.70 m and win bronze for her nation. It was none other than Anju Bobby George who made it possible. Cause apart from a few instances here and their athletics was never India's strong suit.

Anju made it possible and how. This too was right after her gold medal win at the Asian Games in Busan in 2002. George also won the bronze in the Commonwealth Games that year.

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (2004)

Colonel Rajyavardhan Rathore was not just a decorated soldier but also a legendary athlete. The Kargil war veteran won 25 international medals at various championships. He competed in the double trap events. However, out of all his successes, the 2004 Athens Olympics has to be the most memorable one.

Rathore scored a total of 179 points to win silver for his nation. After his retirement, Rathore ventured into politics and also served as the sports Minister.

Pankaj Advani (2005)

Pankaj Advani is the only player to win the Khel Ratna for contributing to two different sports. He won it for billiards and snooker. The Golden Boy from Pune is a record IBSF World Championship winner. He has won 17 billiards world titles. The IBSF World Championships on 16 occasions and the World Team Billiards Championship once.

Advani was equally adept at snooker. The 37-year-old won the IBSF World Snooker championship 3 times. Moreover, he also won IBSF World six-red championship twice and the IBSF World Team Cup and IBSF World Team Championship one time each. Pankaj also got two two gold medals at the Asian Games in Doha in 2006 and Guangzhou in 2010.

Manavjit Singh Sandhu (2006)

The year 2006 was memorable for trap shooter Manavjit Singh Sandhu. He won gold at the ISSF Shooting championship in Zagreb. On top of that, he won two silvers at the Asian Games in Doha both at the individual and team event. His performance in Zagreb was critical as he beat the opponent by just a point margin. He scored 143 compared to runner-up Erminio Frasca's 142 to steal the victory.

Courtesy of which Sandhu was awarded the honorary Khel Ratna award. Sandhu also holds the Asian record of 124/125 targets.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (2007)

India won the maiden ICC T20 world cup right under Mahendra Singh Dhoni's wing in 2007. Moreover, Dhoni was also in form both with the bat and behind the stumps with his keeping gloves.

His average was more than 100 in India's series against West Indies and Sri Lanka. He had also equalled his cricketing idol Adam Gilchrist's record. Dhoni made a record for the most dismissals in an innings in ODI by catching five English players and stumping one. Captain Cool was hitting all the right spots which made him the first choice for the Award selectors.

Mary Kom/Vijender Singh and Sushil Kumar (2009)

The Khel Ratna returned after a year's hiatus in 2009. That too with a bang. This time around it had three award winners and coincidentally all were involved in combat sports. Mary Kom won a silver medal at the 2008 Asian Women's Boxing Championship in India. She added a silver medal at the 2008 Asian Women's Boxing Championship in India. Lastly, she followed it up with a gold medal at the 2009 Asian Indoor Games in Vietnam.

Vijender Singh was another pugilist who made the cut for the Khel Ratna in 2009. His bronze at the 2008 Olympics proved to be crucial for India, Apart from that his silver medal-winning performance in 2007 Ulaanbaatar and 2009 Zhuhai is also noteworthy. Singh also won bronze at the world championships in 2009 in Milan.

Riddled with controversies wrestler Sushil Kumar's life had taken a turn that no one saw coming. Despite the fact, his credentials as a wrestler cannot be denied. Sushil will undoubtedly be one of India's top freestyle wrestlers. His takedowns and single-leg control were a nightmare for his opponents. His repertoire speaks for itself. He is a multi-time gold medalist in every event. The only thing missing from his cabinet is Olympic gold. However, he does have a bronze to show from the 2008 Beijing event.

Saina Nehwal (2010)

Hisar was born but Hyderabad raised Saina Nehwal won the 2010 Khel Ratna for her contribution to badminton. She is a  former world no. 1, she has won 24 international titles. She became the world no 1 in 2015 and thus was the second Indian player to do so after the legendary Prakash Padukone.

She is also the proud holder of "many firsts" in her career. She is the first Indian badminton player to have won an Olympic medal, and the first Indian to have reached the final of the BWF World Championships. Moreover, she is the first Indian to have won the BWF World Junior Championships.  She is also the first Indian to win a Super Series title.

Saina's stardom is credited for making badminton a popular sport in India. Ironically she is also a student of former Khel Ratna winner Pullela Gopichand.