New Delhi, Aug 18: The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on Tuesday (August 18) announced the National Sports Awards 2025, with athletics, chess and badminton among the disciplines receiving prominent recognition.
High jumper Tejaswin Shankar, chess stars Vidit Gujrathi and Divya Deshmukh, and India’s women’s doubles badminton pair Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly are among the 17 sportspersons selected for the Arjuna Award. The awards recognise sustained international performance along with qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and discipline.
The announcement, however, came with a notable development at the top end of India’s sporting honours. No sportsperson has been selected for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna for 2025, meaning the country’s highest sporting honour will have no new recipient this year. This has happened only twice previously since the award was instituted – in 2008 and 2014.
Tejaswin, Divya and Gayatri-Treesa among prominent names
Tejaswin Shankar’s recognition comes after an important period in his athletics career, with the high jumper continuing to be one of India’s leading track-and-field athletes.
The chess community has two representatives in Vidit Gujrathi and Divya Deshmukh. Divya’s selection is particularly significant given her rapid rise on the international circuit.
Badminton’s emerging women’s doubles combination of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly has also been rewarded. The pair have established themselves among India’s leading women’s doubles players and reached a career-high world ranking of No. 9 in January 2025.
The other Arjuna Award recipients are Muhammad Ajmal Variyathodi, Priyanka Goswami, Narender, Dhanush Srikanth, Lalremsiami, Rajkumar Pal, Surjeet, Pooja, Rudransh Khandelwal, Ekta Bhyan, Arvind Singh and Akhil Sheoran.
Arjuna Award Lifetime honour for I Arumainayagam
Former Indian footballer and coach I Arumainayagam has been selected for the Arjuna Award (Lifetime).
Arumainayagam was part of India’s gold-medal-winning football team at the 1962 Asian Games and also won three Durand Cup titles during his playing career.
Dronacharya Awards announced
The Dronacharya Award in the regular category will go to athletics coach Parveer Singh, boxing coach Chhote Lal Yadav and shooting coach Neha Nandkumar Chavan.
The lifetime category will recognise boxing coach Dharmendra Singh Yadav and wrestling coach Virender Kumar.
The Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar has been awarded to the Army Paralympic Node, Pune, for its contribution to sports promotion and development.
Full List of Arjuna and Dronacharya Winners
| Award | Awardee | Sport / Discipline |
|---|---|---|
| Arjuna Award | Tejaswin Shankar | Athletics |
| Arjuna Award | Muhammed Ajmal V | Athletics |
| Arjuna Award | Priyanka Goswami | Athletics |
| Arjuna Award | Treesa Jolly | Badminton |
| Arjuna Award | Pullela Gayatri Gopichand | Badminton |
| Arjuna Award | Narender | Boxing |
| Arjuna Award | Vidit Santosh Gujrathi | Chess |
| Arjuna Award | Divya Jitendra Deshmukh | Chess |
| Arjuna Award | Dhanush Srikanth | Deaf Shooting |
| Arjuna Award | Lalremsiami | Hockey |
| Arjuna Award | Rajkumar Pal | Hockey |
| Arjuna Award | Surjeet | Kabaddi |
| Arjuna Award | Pooja | Kabaddi |
| Arjuna Award | Rudransh Khandelwal | Para-Shooting |
| Arjuna Award | Ekta Bhyan | Para-Athletics |
| Arjuna Award | Arvind Singh | Rowing |
| Arjuna Award | Akhil Sheoran | Shooting |
| Arjuna Award (Lifetime) | I Arumainayagam | Football |
| Dronacharya Award | Parveer Singh | Athletics |
| Dronacharya Award | Chhote Lal Yadav | Boxing |
| Dronacharya Award | Neha Nandkumar Chavan | Shooting |
| Dronacharya Award (Lifetime) | Dharmendra Singh Yadav | Boxing |
| Dronacharya Award (Lifetime) | Virender Kumar | Wrestling |
| Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar | Army Paralympic Node, Pune | Sports Promotion and Development |
The selections were made on the recommendations of a committee chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice (Retd.) Arun Kumar Mishra, with sportspersons, sports administrators and journalists among the members who assessed the nominations.
While the 17 Arjuna Award winners represent a broad spread of Indian sporting achievement, the absence of a Khel Ratna recipient is likely to be the most discussed aspect of this year’s National Sports Awards.