With eight para-sports personalities set to receive the National Sports Awards this year, Deepa Malik, the president of the Paralympic Committee of India on Saturday said that it is a matter of great pride that such an unprecedented number of athletes have been recognised by the Sports Ministry.

Paralympics gold medallist Mariyappan Thangavelu will be awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna while para-athlete Sandeep Chaudhary, para-shooter Manish Narwal and para-swimmer Suyash Jadhav have their names in the 27 Arjuna awardees list.