Squash ace Sandhu on Arjuna Award selection: This is a reward for all the medals that I’ve won for the country

The 34-year-old won two gold medals at this year’s Asian Games in Hangzhou – in the men’s team event and the mixed doubles along with Dipika Pallikal. The pair also won gold at the inaugural Asian Mixed Doubles Championships.

Sandhu will become only the sixth squash player to win the Arjuna Award after Bhuvneshwari Kumari, Saurav Ghosal, Dipika, Joshna Chinappa and Anaka Alankamony. | Photo Credit: R. Ravindran/The Hindu.

The Sports Ministry of India, on Wednesday, released the list of sports persons who will be conferred with the Arjuna award.

“I’m over the moon,” said squash player Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu, who is one of 26 sportspersons chosen for this year’s Arjuna Award “for outstanding performance in Sports and Games 2023.”

The 34-year-old won two gold medals at this year’s Asian Games in Hangzhou – in the men’s team event and the mixed doubles along with Dipika Pallikal. The pair also won gold at the inaugural Asian Mixed Doubles Championships.

Sandhu will become only the sixth squash player to win the Arjuna Award after Bhuvneshwari Kumari, Saurav Ghosal, Dipika, Joshna Chinappa and Anaka Alankamony.

“The Arjuna Award is a reward for all the medals that I’ve won for the country and I’m grateful to each and every one who supported me throughout this journey of over two decades,” he said.

“It’s a long list; my family, all my coaches, the Indian Squash Academy which has groomed me as a player since 2003, the Squash Rackets Federation of India and Mr N Ramachandran for their unflinching support, the Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu, my teammates and above all the fair sporting culture at the Academy,” he added.