Robbed of some sheen due to selection controversies this year, the National Sports Awards were presented to the country's top athletes and coaches with shooter Ronjan Sodhi getting the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna -- the country's highest sporting honour -- while cricketer Virat Kohli was among the Arjuna awardees.
Sprint legend P T Usha was on Thursday named chairperson of the selection committee for this year's national sports awards, while hockey icon Ashok Kumar was appointed head of the panel to pick the Dronacharya awardees. The 17-member panel to select the winners of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna and Dhyan Chand awards also includes tennis ace Leander Paes and Olympic bronze medallist weightlifter Karnam Malleswari.
'I regret not having played an individual sport. When it came to rewarding an athlete, it was always one in an individual sport who was favoured.' 'I feel lucky that I was born in India and played football for India. I can go home with a smile on my face..'
The pipping ceremony of Olympic gold medallist and Lt. Colonel (Honorary) Neeraj Chopra was held on Wednesday in New Delhi, marking another significant milestone in his decorated career.
Sports Ministry confirms Satwik, Chirag for Khel Ratna, Shami and 25 others for Arjuna award
If TVK MLAs and ministers are perceived as clean, or demonstrably cleaner than their predecessors, the credibility dividend will be enormous. The voter will feel rewarded, points out Ramesh Menon.
Manu Bhaker has been shockingly ignored for this year's Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, a top sports ministry source has asserted
'Shah Rukh Sir gave us a lot of room to make the film we wanted to make.'
Vijay Amritraj gets Padma Bhushan; Rohit Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur receive Padma Shri
The para-athletes outnumbered the able-bodied ones in the list this time due to the magnificent Paris Paralympics performance in which they returned with 29 medals, including seven gold and nine silver.
Star shuttler HS Prannoy on Saturday questioned the criteria for Arjuna Award selection, saying knowing people who can push a nomination is more important than performances on court.
For women's hockey goalkeeping stalwart Savita Punia, the Padma Shri is more than a national honour -- it is a quiet acknowledgement of years marked by sacrifice, resilience, and unwavering belief, both her own and that of a family that stood by her when the odds were firmly stacked against her.
On Wednesday, the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) wrote to the sports ministry to comply with the High Court order.
Men's hockey team captain Harmanpreet, under whose leadership India won a second successive bronze medal at the Olympics, said the honour is a recognition of his "fascinating" journey in which he still has plenty more to achieve.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India has recommended young batsman Virat Kohli for the prestigious Arjuna award and former captain Sunil Gavaskar for the Dhyanchand lifetime achievement honour.
'At the same time, this may encourage some youngsters in some parts of the country to pursue football.'
Sports Governance Act: Tier System for Athletes, Convicted Ineligible
Shooter Manu Bhaker won two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics while Gukesh was crowned the World Chess Champion in Singapore, last month.
Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday praised star pacer Mohammed Shami and para-archer Sheetal Devi after being honoured with the Arjuna Award in Delhi.
Raj Manchanda was the undisputed national champion from 1977 to 1982 and won an unprecedented 11 titles for the Services.
July belongs to Smriti Mandhana - who turns 29 today while on tour in England.
One of the biggest names in the women's game, the 36-year-old Bembem called time on her illustrious international career at the end of the South Asian Games last year in Shillong.
In a reconciliatory gesture, the Sports ministry made an exception for BCCI by extending the last date for filing nominations for Arjuna awards to July 20.
The Government of India has hiked the prize-money for its annual sporting honours, including the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna award. The Khel Ratna recipient will now receive Rs 750,000, Rs 250,000 more than previously awarded.
'I am very happy to get national recognition of my long and hard work.'
Gurpreet is the 26th footballer to win an Arjuna.
'More than me, my wife is proud of me because she is the one who thinks that I should get the award'
The Cricket Board has decided to recommend recently retired stalwart Rahul Dravid for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award and Yuvraj Singh, the player of the World Cup, for the Arjuna Award.
Sports Minister Vikram Verma said old policies will be followed while electing sportspersons for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna Awards.
Aseem Chhabra ranks the Best of 2025's films that released in theatres, or went directly to OTT platforms.
This was due to the fact that they had already won the Khel Ratna, the country's highest sporting honour.
To avoid any controversy on the criteria for the Arjuna award, the Sports Ministry on Friday granted 90 per cent weightage to medal winners at various international championships and sports disciplines covered in the Olympics (Summer, Winter and Paralympics), Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. The guidelines, released by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, will be applicable from 2014.
Satwik and his doubles partner Chirag Shetty, who had claimed the Commonwealth Games silver in 2018 and won the Thailand Open Super 500 last year, were recommended for the Arjuna Award jointly.
Peeved at being ignored for the prestigious Arjuna Award, woman weightlifter Renubala Chanu has decided to return the gold medal she won at last year's Commonwealth Games to the sports minister.
A look at some of the major controversies in past World Cups.
Shooter Ronjan Sodhi picked for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award by the selection committee.
The Sports Ministry has decided against conferring Renjith Maheswary the prestigious Arjuna award, as the triple jumper was found to have used a 'scheduled' substance (ephedrine) back in 2008.
Yuvraj Singh, who has recovered from a rare germ cell cancer, feels 'honoured' that the BCCI has again sent his nomination for the prestigious Arjuna award and is hoping that he will be lucky this time.
In a letter to the Minister, Amit Panghal, who became India's first male boxer to win a world championship silver last year, said that athletes should not have to plead their case for an award by nominating themselves.
The Wrestling Federation of India unveiled a new selection policy that makes attendance at national camps mandatory to be eligible for national selection, bars wrestlers from training independently and mandates Olympic Games quota-winning athletes to appear in a final one-bout selection trial.
