Arjuna Award Recipients Announced After Long Wait, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Remains Unawarded

Announcement of Arjuna Award Winners

After a lengthy delay of 237 days, the sports ministry has finally released the names of the Arjuna award recipients, following the submission of recommendations for final approval.

The selection committee, chaired by Justice (Retd) Arun Kumar Mishra, proposed a total of 24 candidates for the prestigious award. However, they could not reach a consensus regarding the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, the highest sporting accolade.

Among those discussed were hockey players Hardik Singh and Vivek Sagar Prasad, hurdler Jyothi Yarraji, and archer V Jyoti Surekha, but none received the final endorsement. This marks only the third occasion in recent years—after 2008 and 2014—when no names were recommended for this honor.

The finalized list of Arjuna awardees, published on Tuesday, has been reduced to 17 individuals. According to the sports scheme, an independent committee evaluates candidates based on performance metrics, yet the sports minister retains the authority to modify the final selection.

Notable recipients include decathlete Tejaswin Shankar and chess Grandmasters Divya Deshmukh and Vidit Gujarathi. Deshmukh notably became the first Indian woman to clinch the World Cup in 2025. Other awardees include rifle shooter Akhil Sheoran and badminton players Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand.

In an unexpected turn, Aarti from Yogasana, who was set to be the first awardee from this indigenous sport, has been excluded from the list. Other athletes such as polo player Padmanabh Singh, kho kho player Nirmala Bhati, gymnast Pranati Nayak, shooter Mehuli Ghosh, table tennis player Sutirtha Mukherjee, and wrestler Sonam Malik also did not make the cut.

For the Dronacharya award, athletics coach Parveer Singh, boxing coach Chhote Lal Yadav, and shooting coach Neha Nandkumar Chavan have been recognized. Additionally, boxing coach Dharmendra Singh Yadav and wrestling coach Virender Kumar received the Dronacharya award in the lifetime achievement category. Coaches Abhilasha (archery), Shiva Megan (basketball), and Avantika Deka (badminton) were not included.

The Army Paralympic Node of Pune has been honored with the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar for its contributions to sports promotion and development.