The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna is the current name of India's top national sporting honour. Older award lists use the name Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna for years before the renaming. Those older entries are not a different category of award merely because the title changed. Ministry records show the current list and also allow a researcher to reconcile earlier recipients with the former name.
For this volume, the 2023 pair entry for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty is a well-defined AP-linked question. Karnam Malleswari is also associated with the earlier Khel Ratna name in government biographical material. An MCQ may give “Major Dhyan Chand Award” without “Khel Ratna” as a distractor; read the full phrase. The highest sporting honour is distinct from Padma awards, which are civilian honours, and distinct from Olympic medals awarded by the Games organisers.
Worked example: The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna is a high-level national sports honour. It is distinct from the Dhyan Chand lifetime award despite the shared name. A question may test the current official title after renaming. Use the ministry's award page and year list, not a headline that shortens the category to 'Dhyan Chand award'.
Active recall: Give the old and current names of Khel Ratna and identify the 2023 badminton pair.
National Sports Awards taxonomy
Khel Ratna, Arjuna, Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand lifetime honour have different purposes.
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Khel Ratna, Arjuna, Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand lifetime recognition have different purposes and recipient types.
Current district geometry: APSDMA. Sports results, awards and policy: credited issuing bodies.