Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2024 has chosen 22 extraordinary Indian children as awardees. Five of them are from a sports background. Here are their details
The Pradhan Mantri Bal Rashtriya Puraskar formerly known as the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement is an honour bestowed upon children, who display exceptional abilities and outstanding performance in their chosen fields throughout the year. The President of India will confer the award on Monday, January 22, 2024, at Vigyan Bhawan, Delhi. (More Sports News)
Children between the ages of 5-18 are recognized for their excellence in seven different categories, which include Bravery, Art and Culture, Environment, Innovation, Science and Technology, Social Service, and Sports. This year, out of the 22 awardees, five children have been selected in the Sports category. Their names are Aaditya Yadav, Charvi A, Jesicca Neyi Saring, Linthoi Chanambam, and R Surya Prasad. But who are they?
Aaditya Yadav (Badminton)
Aaditya Yadav is a 13-year-old badminton player from Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. She is a gold medalist at the 2022 Deaflympics under-19 championship. Along with her partner Gerlin, she made history by winning India's first such gold.
This was not her first record-breaking achievement; she had already made history by becoming the first female player from India to enter the Deaf World Championship in 2019 at the age of 10. In 2023, Aaditya won the Six National Deaf Junior Sub-Junior Sports Championship.
Charvi Anilkumar (Chess)
Charvi Anikumar is a talented 9-year-old chess player from Bengaluru, Karnataka. She has been recognized as the highest-rated female chess prodigy (under 11) in the world. Despite being in the third grade, she has already made headlines in India by winning the title of World Champion Under-8 category at the World Cadets Chess Championship held in Georgia in 2022. She has an impressive record of winning five gold medals. FIDE has awarded her the title of Woman Candidate Master (WCM) in recognition of her outstanding performance in the field.
In 2023, Charvi added another feather to her cap by winning the Chessable Sunway International Chess Festival held in Sitges, Spain, which made her country proud once again. Currently, she is participating in the first-ever edition of the Bangalore International Grandmasters Open Chess Tournament that started on January 18, 2024.
Jessica Neyi Saring (Badminton)
Jessica Neyi Saring is a 10-year-old badminton prodigy from Roing in the Lower Dibang Valley district of Arunachal Pradesh. She has an impressive track record of participating in more than 20 competitions and winning gold medals.
She gained national recognition after winning the gold medal at the All India Sub Junior Ranking Badminton Tournament (under 13), held in Bihar. In addition to this, she holds the record for back-to-back wins in the girls' singles badminton championships in the under 9, 11, and 13 categories at the Darjee Khandu Memorial State Badminton Championship.
Linthoi Chanambam (Judo)
Linthoi Chanambam is a 16-year-old Judoka from Imphal, Manipur. She made India proud by becoming the first ever to clinch gold at the 2022 World Cadet Judo Championships held in Bosnia. At the age of eight, Linthoi joined the Mayai Lambi Sports Academy to enhance her judo skills.
The young prodigy from Manipur has already won the Sub-Junior National Championship title and is now putting in efforts to make her country proud once again in the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024.
R Surya Prasad (Mountaineering)
R Surya Prasad, a 9-year-old mountaineer from Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, has been learning mountain climbing skills for four years now. He recently set a record for being the second Indian to reach the Uhuru Peak in the Mt Kilimanjaro Range, and the first from Telugu States.
Surya Prasad has been gaining recognition since 2022, when he won gold in the U-20 category at the 2021 Taekwondo Olympics held in Bangalore.
All the recipients of the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar will have an opportunity to interact with India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on January 23, 2024. These sports sensation children of India will also participate in the upcoming Republic Day parade on January 26.