M A I N   N E W S

Khel Ratna for Pankaj Advani

New Delhi, August 18
The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for 2005 will be bestowed on world billiards champion Pankaj Advani. He will receive the honour from President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on August 29. Besides, 15 sportspersons have also been selected for the coveted Arjuna Award.

Among them are grandmaster Suryashekhar Ganguly, badminton champion Aparna Popat, 400m runner Manjeet Kaur, wrestler Sushil Kumar, woman cricketer Anju Jain, rifle shooter Gagan Narang, women’s billiards world champion Anuja Thakur and hockey mid-fielder Viren Rasquinha. — UNI