President Droupadi Murmu presents National Sports Awards; Tejaswin, Divya among Arjuna winners

President Droupadi Murmu presented the National Sports Awards at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday, with decathlete Tejaswin Shankar, chess Grandmasters Divya Deshmukh and Vidit Gujrathi among the prominent recipients of the Arjuna Award. No sportsperson was selected for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna this year, marking the first such instance since 2014.

A total of 17 sportspersons were selected for the Arjuna Award following an unprecedented review of recommendations submitted by a selection committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Arun Kumar Mishra late last year. The ceremony, which lasted a little over 36 minutes, was attended by Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Sports Secretary Hari Ranjan Rao, among other officials.

Deshmukh, Gujrathi, Commonwealth Games silver medallist boxer Narender Berwal and deaf rifle shooter Dhanush Srikanth were among the awardees present at the ceremony.

Chess stars, Tejaswin lead Arjuna Award recipients

Deshmukh, 20, made history by becoming the first Indian woman to win the Chess World Cup. Gujrathi, meanwhile, was part of the Indian contingent that clinched gold at the 2024 Chess Olympiad.

Shankar's selection recognises a series of significant performances in athletics. He secured a historic silver medal in the decathlon at the 2023 Asian Games, followed by a second-place finish at the Asian Championships last year. He also claimed a bronze at the Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya and recently became the first Indian to win a Commonwealth Games decathlon bronze, despite dealing with a knee problem.

Shankar had previously expressed displeasure over the prolonged delay in announcing the awards, describing the wait as disrespectful towards athletes.

The 17 Arjuna Award recipients include athletes from athletics, boxing, chess, shooting, hockey, kabaddi, rowing and badminton. The list also features women's doubles badminton players Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, hockey player Lalremsiami and kabaddi player Pooja.

Para-sportspersons account for two selections this year, a sharp decline from 17 para-athletes among the record 32 Arjuna Award recipients in 2024. The latest list includes para club thrower Ekta Bhyan, a gold medallist at the 2024 Para World Championships who also secured silver at last year's edition in Delhi, and para-shooter Rudransh Khandelwal, a 2024 Para World Cup gold medallist.

No cricketer has made the list this year either. The last cricketer to receive the Arjuna Award was fast bowler Mohammed Shami in 2023.

Coaching honours and lifetime achievement awards

Former footballer I Arumainayagam, a member of India's gold-winning team at the 1962 Asian Games, was the sole recipient of the Arjuna Award for Lifetime Achievement.

The Dronacharya Awards were announced for three coaches: Parveer Singh, Chhote Lal Yadav and Neha Chavan. Yadav, who has worked with the women's national boxing camp and was part of the support staff for boxing legend M C Mary Kom, was among the prominent names in the category.

The Dronacharya Award for Lifetime Achievement went to Dharmendra Yadav, coach of the men's national boxing squad, and wrestling coach Virender Kumar.

The Arjuna Award carries a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh.

The awards were announced after a prolonged selection process involving a Ministry-initiated reassessment of the original recommendations. The exercise was undertaken with the stated objective of ensuring that only deserving candidates were honoured and that the integrity of the awards was maintained.

The selection committee this year included Indian Olympic Association Vice President Gagan Narang, former badminton player Aparna Popat and former hockey player M M Somaya, among others.

The Khel Ratna was last presented to four athletes in 2024: world chess champion D Gukesh, men's hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh, para-athlete Praveen Kumar and shooter Manu Bhaker.

The National Sports Awards have traditionally been presented on August 29, coinciding with National Sports Day and the birth anniversary of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand. However, the schedule has become less consistent since 2020, when the ceremony was held virtually due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Arjuna Award recipients: Tejaswin Shankar (Athletics), Priyanka Goswami (Athletics), Narender (Boxing), Vidit Gujrathi (Chess), Divya Deshmukh (Chess), Dhanush Srikanth (Deaf Shooting), Rajkumar Pal (Hockey), Surjeet (Kabaddi), Rudransh Khandelwal (Para-Shooting), Ekta Bhyan (Para-Athletics), Arvind Singh (Rowing), Akhil Sheoran (Shooting), Treesa Jolly (Badminton), Gayatri Gopichand (Badminton), Lalremsiami (Hockey), Muhammed Ajmal (Athletics) and Pooja (Kabaddi).

Arjuna Award (Lifetime Achievement): I Arumainayagam (Football).

Dronacharya Award: Parveer Singh, Chhote Lal Yadav and Neha Chavan.

Dronacharya Award (Lifetime Achievement): Dharmendra Yadav and Virender Kumar.


(With inputs from PTI)