Ritu Negi and Pawan Sehrawat, the captains of the Indian women’s kabaddi team and Indian men’s kabaddi team respectively will receive the Arjuna Award, a prestigious Indian sports award awarded to individuals for their outstanding achievements in sports.
The Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs will felicitate both players with the Arjuna Award which comprises a bronze statuette of Arjuna, a certificate, a ceremonial dress, and Rs. 15 lakh cash on 9 January 2024.
In the past few years, Ritu Negi's women's kabaddi team has achieved success, winning silver in both the 2019 South Asian Games in Kathmandu and the Jakarta Asian Games. The Indian women's Kabaddi team took the gold medal at the Hangzhou Games by defeating Chinese Taipei, a powerful rival.
Captain Ritu is widely recognized for her outstanding gameplay. She hails from Himachal Pradesh. She was also a part of the Indian kabaddi squads that took home silver and gold medals from the 2018 Asian Games and the 2019 South Asian Games, respectively.
The men’s captain of the kabaddi team, Pawan Sehrawat is also a glorious player. He made a strong comeback after his injury. He kept calm during a confusion of rules during the Asian Kabaddi Championship 2023 held at Busan. The match was against Iran where the Indian team guaranteed their gold medal. This was the second gold medal for captain Pawan in 2023.
