The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on Tuesday announced the National Sports Awards 2025, with 17 sportspersons selected for the prestigious Arjuna Award in recognition of their performances and achievements.
According to the Press Information Bureau, the awardees were selected based on the recommendations of a committee led by Justice (Retd.) Arun Kumar Mishra, a former Supreme Court judge.
The committee included eminent sportspersons, sports administrators and individuals with experience in sports journalism.
The Arjuna Award recognises athletes for consistent performance over the previous four years, while also taking into account qualities such as leadership, sportsmanship and discipline, according to the ministry.
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Among the prominent names on the 2025 list are chess players Divya Jitendra Deshmukh and Vidit Santosh Gujrathi; athletes Tejaswin Shankar, Muhammed Ajmal V and Priyanka Goswami; and badminton players Treesa Jolly and Pullela Gayatri Gopichand.
Hockey players Lalremsiami and Rajkumar Pal, boxer Narender, kabaddi players Surjeet and Pooja, and shooters Akhil Sheoran and Dhanush Srikanth have also been selected.
The list further includes para-shooter Rudransh Khandelwal, para-athlete Ekta Bhyan and rower Arvind Singh.
The ministry has also selected I. Arumainayagam for the Arjuna Award (Lifetime) in recognition of his contribution to football.
According to PIB, the lifetime award recognises sportspersons who have contributed to their respective disciplines through their performances and continued to promote sports after retiring from active competition.
Three coaches have been selected for the Dronacharya Award in the regular category: Parveer Singh for athletics, Chhote Lal Yadav for boxing and Neha Nandkumar Chavan for shooting.
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In the lifetime category, the Dronacharya Award will be presented to Dharmendra Singh Yadav for boxing and Virender Kumar for wrestling.
The Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar 2025, which recognises entities that contribute to the promotion and development of sports, has been awarded to the Army Paralympic Node, Pune.
PIB said applications for the awards were invited through an online portal, allowing sportspersons, coaches and eligible entities to apply directly. The applications were subsequently evaluated by the selection committee.
The National Sports Awards recognise sporting excellence and sustained contributions to the development of India's sporting ecosystem.
Arjuna Awards For Outstanding Performance In Sports And Games 2025
| Sl. No. | Name | Discipline |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Tejaswin Shankar | Athletics |
| 2. | Muhammed Ajmal V | Athletics |
| 3. | Priyanka Goswami | Athletics |
| 4. | Treesa Jolly | Badminton |
| 5. | Pullela Gayatri Gopichand | Badminton |
| 6. | Narender | Boxing |
| 7. | Vidit Santosh Gujarathi | Chess |
| 8. | Divya Jitendra Deshmukh | Chess |
| 9. | Dhanush Srikanth | Deaf shooting |
| 10. | Lalremsiami | Hockey |
| 11. | Rajkumar Pal | Hockey |
| 12. | Surjeet | Kabaddi |
| 13. | Pooja | Kabaddi |
| 14. | Rudransh Khandelwal | Para-shooting |
| 15. | Ekta Bhyan | Para athletics |
| 16. | Arvind Singh | Rowing |
| 17. | Akhil Sheoran | Shooting |
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