Decathlon athlete Tejaswin Shankar leads a list of 17 athletes who will be conferred with the prestigious Arjuna Awards as the Sports Ministry on Tuesday announced the National Sports Awards 2025.
The Arjuna Award list also includes India’s premier women’s badminton doubles pair, Treesa Jolly and Pullela Gayatri Gopichand, FIDE Women’s World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh, track and field athlete Muhammed Ajmal Variyathodi, race walker Priyanak Goswami, boxer Narender, chess player Vidit Santosh Gujarathi, para shooter Dhanush Srikanth, Lalremsiami Hmarzote (Hockey), Rajkumar Pal (Hockey), Surjeet and Pooja (Kabaddi), para shooter Rudransh Khandelwal, para athlete Ekta Bhyan, rower Arvind Singh and shooter Akhil Sheoran.
No Khel Ratna recipient in 2025
For the 2025 cycle, no sportsperson was selected for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The development marks a departure from last year, when four sportspersons were honoured with the country’s highest sporting award. Chess world champion Gukesh Dommaraju, India’s men’s hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh, para-athlete Praveen Kumar and Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker received the Khel Ratna in 2024.
Gukesh was recognised after becoming the youngest-ever world champion in chess, while Bhaker became the first Indian athlete since Independence to win two medals at a single Olympic Games.
Tejaswin Shankar leads Arjuna Award list
Tejaswin Shankar created history at the Commonwealth Games by securing bronze in the decathlon, becoming the first Indian athlete to win a medal in the event at the Games.
Divya Deshmukh earns Arjuna honour
Divya Deshmukh stunned the chess world by winning the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2025, becoming the first Indian woman to claim the prestigious title. In the all-Indian final, Divya defeated legendary compatriot Koneru Humpy 1.5–0.5 in the rapid tie-breaks in Baku to script a fairytale ending.
“Based on the recommendations of the Selection Committee chaired by a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice (Retd.) Arun Kumar Mishra, the Government has decided to confer awards on the following sportspersons, coaches and entities under various categories,” the ministry said.
The Arjuna Award for outstanding performance in Sports and Games is given for good performance over the previous four years, along with qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and discipline.
Isaiah Arumainayagam to receive Arjuna Award (Lifetime)
Veteran Indian footballer Isaiah Arumainayagam will be honoured with the Arjuna Award (Lifetime). He represented India at the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games, where the team won the gold medal.
He was also part of the Indian team that finished second at the 1964 AFC Asian Cup in Israel. The Arjuna Award (Lifetime) is given to honour sportspersons who have contributed to sports through their performances and continued to promote sports after retiring from active competition.
Coaches to receive Dronacharya Award
Athletics coach Parveer Singh, boxing coach Chhote Lal Yadav and shooting coach Neha Nandkumar Chavan will be presented with the Dronacharya Award. The award recognises coaches for their contribution to producing and nurturing sporting talent.
Army Paralympic Node, Pune will be awarded the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar. The award is given to a corporate entity or non-governmental organisation that has played a visible role in promoting and developing sports. The National Sports Awards are presented every year to recognise and reward excellence in sports.
(With Inputs from IANS)
