Gaurav Gill is the first person from motorsport to win the Arjuna Award.
Arjuna Award is one of the highest honors for a sportsperson.
Gill missed out on Arjuna Award thrice before.
Rally driver Gaurav Gill has received the 2019 Arjuna Award for his contributions to motorsport. This makes him the first person from motorsport to receive the award. Gill has dominated the Indian rallying scene over the last two decades, winning the Indian National Rally Championship six times.
Gill has international achievements to his name as well – he has won the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship three times, and has participated in four rounds of the World Rally Championship 2 last year. He is expected to participate in at least three rounds of the WRC2 this year as well.
In an interview, Gaurav Gill has stated that he hopes his winning the award will help more people accept motorsport into the mainstream. India’s auto industry is rapidly gaining ground to become the third-largest in the world, so not having people representing it is a shame.
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It seems like an impossible dream for someone to become a motorsport icon in the country where the most important feature of a car is its fuel-efficiency, but Gaurav Gill has shown us that it is possible with the right education about how to enter the sport and go about developing one’s self in it. Hopefully, the coverage gained by his winning the Arjuna Award will bring Indian motorsport more into the mainstream, and help boost its popularity and growth.