National Sports Awards 2025: 17 Athletes Named for Arjuna Award

The awardees were chosen following recommendations from a Selection Committee chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice (Retd.) Arun Kumar Mishra.

India's Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has announced the National Sports Awards 2025, recognising athletes and coaches across disciplines ranging from athletics and badminton to chess, hockey, para-sports and shooting.

Seventeen sportspersons have been selected for the Arjuna Award for outstanding performance, while former footballer I Arumainayagam will receive the Arjuna Award (Lifetime). Five coaches have been chosen for the Dronacharya Award across regular and lifetime categories, and the Army Paralympic Node in Pune has been named for the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar.

The awardees were chosen following recommendations from a Selection Committee chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice (Retd.) Arun Kumar Mishra. The committee considered applications submitted through the Government's dedicated online portal, with athletes, coaches and eligible organisations allowed to apply themselves.

17 sportspersons selected for Arjuna Award

Athletics has the largest representation among this year's Arjuna Award recipients, with Tejaswin Shankar, Muhammed Ajmal V and Priyanka Goswami among those selected. Badminton players Treesa Jolly and Pullela Gayatri Gopichand have also made the list, along with boxer Narender. Chess is represented by Vidit Santosh Gujarathi and Divya Jitendra Deshmukh, while Dhanush Srikanth has been recognised for his achievements in deaf shooting.

Hockey players Lalremsiami and Rajkumar Pal will receive the award, joined by kabaddi players Surjeet and Pooja. Para-sport is represented by para-shooter Rudransh Khandelwal and para-athlete Ekta Bhyan, while rower Arvind Singh and shooter Akhil Sheoran complete the list of 17 recipients.

The Arjuna Award recognises athletes for strong performances during the previous four years while also taking into account leadership, discipline and sportsmanship, making the honour a reflection of both competitive results and conduct within sport.

Coaches recognised with Dronacharya honours

The 2025 awards also recognise coaches whose work has helped Indian athletes perform at international competitions. Three coaches have been selected for the regular category of the Dronacharya Award: athletics coach Parveer Singh, boxing coach Chhote Lal Yadav and shooting coach Neha Nandkumar Chavan.

Dharmendra Singh Yadav, from boxing, and Virender Kumar, from wrestling, have been selected in the lifetime category. The lifetime honour acknowledges coaches whose contribution has extended across many years and helped build sporting talent beyond individual competitions or seasons.

Former footballer I Arumainayagam is the sole recipient of the Arjuna Award (Lifetime) for 2025. This category honours former sportspersons who made notable contributions during their active careers and continued supporting the promotion and development of sport after retirement.

Army Paralympic Node recognised for sports promotion

The Army Paralympic Node in Pune has been selected for the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar, an award intended for organisations that have played a visible role in promoting and developing sport.

Unlike individual performance awards, the category recognises the wider support system behind sporting success, including organisations that create opportunities, infrastructure and development pathways for athletes.

The selection process began with online applications from sportspersons, coaches and organisations, and the Ministry said a large number of entries were received this year. These were assessed by the committee headed by Justice Mishra, which included eminent sportspersons alongside people with experience in sports journalism and sports administration.

The 2025 list reflects the growing range of disciplines contributing to India's sporting landscape, with established Olympic sports appearing alongside chess, kabaddi, deaf shooting and para-sports. The mix of active athletes, veteran contributors, coaches and sporting organisations also puts attention on the wider network of people and institutions involved in building competitive sport across the country.