Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal was conferred the nation's highest sporting honour Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna while 15 sportspersons received the Arjuna Award from President Pratibha Patil at a function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi on Sunday. Apart from a medal and citation, Saina was also awarded a cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh. However, the ace shuttler was not present at the ceremony due to international commitments. The Khel Ratna award is considered to be the highest honor given to a player with significant contribution to the game on birth anniversary of legendary hockey player Major Dhyanchand. Dronacharya Award, the top recognition for coaches in the country, was conferred on five including L Ibomcha Singh (boxing), Ajay Kumar Bansal (hockey) and Subhash B Aggarwal (billiards and snooker). List of awardees:Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award: Saina Nehwal (Badminton).Arjuna Awards: Joseph Abraham, Krishna Poonia (both Athletics),Dinesh Kumar (Boxing), Parimrajan Negi ( Chess), Julan Goswami(Women's Cricket), Deepak Kumar Mandal (Football), Sandeep Singh(Men's Hockey), Jasjeet Kaur Handa (Women's Hockey), Dinesh Kumar(Kabaddi), Sanjeev Rajput (Shooting), Rehan Jehangir Poncha(Swimming), Kapil Dev KJ (Volleyball), Rajeev Tomar (Wrestling),Rajesh Chaudhary (Yachting), Jagseer Singh (Para- Olympics athletics).Dhyan Chand Awards: Satish Pillai (Athletics), Kuldeep Singh (Wrestling), Anita Chanu (Weightlifting).Dronacharya Awards: A K Kutty (Athletics), Subhash B Aggarwal (Billiards and Snooker), L Ibomcha Singh (Boxing), Ajay Kumar Bansal (Hockey), Captain Chandrup (Wrestling).Rashtriya Khel Protsahana Puruskar: Services Sports Control Board (SSCB), Tata Steel Limited, Khel Evam Yuva Vibhag (Government of Madhya Pradesh).