Which sportsperson among the following received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, India's highest sporting honour, for the year 2017?

Introduction / Context:
The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, now renamed in later years but historically known by this title, is India's highest sporting honour. It is conferred on athletes for outstanding performance over a period of years at the international level. Questions about its recipients, especially for recent years, are a regular feature in sports and general awareness exams. Here we focus on the award for the year 2017.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- The award in question is the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna for the year 2017. - The options are all well known Indian sportspersons from different disciplines. - In 2017 the award was conferred jointly on two athletes, but only one of them appears among the options. - We assume the official National Sports Awards list as the factual base. - The task is to identify which of the names listed actually received the Khel Ratna in that year.

Concept / Approach:
For 2017, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award was jointly awarded to Devendra Jhajharia, a para javelin thrower, and Sardar Singh, a leading Indian hockey player. Among the given options only Sardar Singh appears, so he must be the correct choice. The other names in the list are either Khel Ratna recipients from different years or sportspersons associated mainly with other awards. Recognising the specific year and cross matching with known awardees is the key.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that shooter Jitu Rai received the Khel Ratna earlier, associated with the 2015 to 2016 period, not the 2017 list. Step 2: Recognise that Jasvir Singh is a famous kabaddi player but is not known as a Khel Ratna recipient for 2017. Step 3: Remember that Sardar Singh, a star midfielder and former captain of the Indian men hockey team, was named for the Khel Ratna in 2017 along with para athlete Devendra Jhajharia. Step 4: Note that S. V. Sunil is another well known hockey player but did not receive the Khel Ratna in that specific year. Step 5: P. V. Sindhu is a Khel Ratna awardee but her award relates to an earlier cycle linked to her Olympic and World Championship performances, not to the 2017 list specified here. Step 6: Therefore, among the given options, Sardar Singh is the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
We can verify by recalling the common exam note that in 2017 both Devendra Jhajharia and Sardar Singh received the Khel Ratna. Since Devendra Jhajharia is not listed among the options, any candidate aware of this pair will immediately pick Sardar Singh as the correct choice. Meanwhile, Jitu Rai and P. V. Sindhu are linked to an earlier award cycle that honoured multiple Rio Olympic medallists, and the other names have no direct connection with the 2017 Khel Ratna notification. This cross check confirms the answer.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A (Jitu Rai) is wrong because his Khel Ratna recognition relates to an earlier period and not to the 2017 awards. Option B (Jasvir Singh) is wrong because he is not listed among Khel Ratna recipients for any year. Option D (S. V. Sunil) is wrong because, despite being a key hockey player, he has not been conferred the Khel Ratna for 2017. Option E (P. V. Sindhu) is wrong because her Khel Ratna award belongs to a different award year and is not the 2017 pair mentioned in the question.

Common Pitfalls:
Candidates often remember the names of Khel Ratna recipients but forget the exact years or the fact that the award is sometimes shared. This leads to confusion between nearby years, especially around the Rio Olympic cycle when multiple sportspersons were honoured. Another mistake is to assume that the most famous or recent name must be the correct answer without checking year wise details. To avoid such problems, it is useful to learn a compact table of Khel Ratna winners with their sports and award years.

Final Answer:
The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for the year 2017, among the options given, was received by Sardar Singh.