India’s sporting fraternity has celebrated another landmark year as the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announced the recipients of the prestigious National Sports Awards 2025. Seventeen standout athletes have been selected for the esteemed Arjuna Award, spotlighting exceptional talent across track and field, badminton, chess and boxing.
Headlining the honours is decathlete Tejaswin Shankar, whose historic bronze medal with 7,976 points at the Commonwealth Games followed an Asian Games silver. Tejaswin continues to redefine multi-discipline athletics across the nation. Joining him in the limelight are badminton sensations Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand. The formidable pair, who previously clinched a memorable Commonwealth Games medal in Birmingham, have cemented their status as the country's premier women's doubles duo through remarkable consistency and sportsmanship.
Athletics features strongly on this year's roster, with runners Muhammed Ajmal V and Priyanka Goswami joining Tejaswin among the honourees. Boxer Narender Berwal also earned recognition following a stellar campaign that yielded a heavyweight silver medal in Glasgow. Chess prodigies Vidit Gujrathi and Divya Deshmukh take their places among the celebrated elite, whilst hockey stars Lalremsiami Hmarzote and Rajkumar Pal bolster the lineup.
The awards also celebrate para-sports champions Ekta Bhyan and Rudransh Khandelwal alongside deaf shooting sensation Dhanush Srikanth. Former football icon I Arumainayagam receives the Arjuna Award (Lifetime) for his enduring contribution to the beautiful game.
In a rare development, no recipient was chosen for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, India's highest sporting accolade. It marks the first occasion since 2014 that the top honour has not been conferred, after four champions shared the award the previous year.
Coaching excellence was equally applauded through the Dronacharya Award. Parveer Singh, Chhote Lal Yadav and Neha Nandkumar Chavan triumphed in the regular category, whilst Dharmendra Singh Yadav and Virender Kumar earned lifetime honours. Additionally, the Army Paralympic Node in Pune claimed the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar, highlighting holistic grassroots development across Indian sport.
For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels.