No Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award This Year Amidst Controversy
Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award Not Awarded This Year
This year, the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award will not be presented. The Arjuna Award committee, chaired by retired Justice Arun Kumar Mishra, convened in New Delhi on Wednesday but could not reach an agreement on any recipient for the esteemed honor. Notable athletes such as hockey forward Hardik Singh, goalkeeper Vivek Sagar Prasad, hurdler Jyothi Yarraji, and archer V Jyoti Surekha were among those discussed.
In recent history, this marks only the third occasion—following 2008 and 2014—when the committee has opted not to recommend any candidates for the award.
Despite this, the committee has put forward a list of 24 athletes for the Arjuna Awards, including Tejaswin Shankar, a national record holder in high jump and India's top decathlete, along with chess prodigy Vidit Gujarathi. This list will be sent to Sports Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, with the winners expected to be announced shortly.
Notably, the committee has also recommended Aarti Pal, a yogasana athlete, for the award. This is a historic moment as it marks the first time a yogasana competitor has been included in the awards list. Aarti is currently the national and Asian champion in her discipline.
Additionally, 19-year-old Divya Deshmukh, who made headlines as the first Indian woman to win a World Cup in chess, is also on the recommendation list.
The comprehensive list of nominees includes rifle shooters Mehuli Ghosh, a two-time World Championship bronze medalist, and Akhil Sheoran, along with the women's badminton duo Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand.
Other notable recommendations for the Arjuna Awards include Tejaswin Shankar, Priyanka Goswami, and Mohammed Afsal (athletics); Narender (boxing); Vidit Gujarathi and Divya Deshmukh (chess); S Dhanush (deaf shooting); Pranati Nayak (gymnastics); Rajkumar Pal and Lalremsiami (hockey); Surjeet Narwal and Pooja (kabaddi); Nirmala Bhati (kho-kho); Rudransh Khandelwal (para-shooting); Ekta Bhyan (para-athletics); Padmanabh Singh (polo); Arvind Singh (rowing); Akhil Sheoran and Mehuli Ghosh (shooting); Sutirtha Mukherjee (table tennis); Sonam Malik (wrestling); Aarti Pal (yogasana); Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand (badminton).