The prestigious award carries a prize money of Rs 25 lakh.
In 2021, the Centre renamed the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna as Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. But many wonder, why despite the public sentiment the country's highest civilian honour continues to elude the man who put Indian hockey on the world map.
On August 29, India celebrates National Sports Day to commemorate the birth anniversary of hockey wizard Dhyan Chand.
Seventeen Indian sportspersons, including World Cup winning chess player Divya Deshmukh, decathlete Tejaswin Shankar, and shuttler Gayatri Gopichand, have been named for the prestigious Arjuna Award for 2025.
As per the Ministry sources, a special request was made by the BCCI to the sports ministry to include Shami's name as he didn't originally feature in the list of the country's second-highest sporting honour.
While Sharath is the lone Khel Ratna award recipient, a total of 25 athletes including shuttlers Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, woman boxer Nikhat Zareen, athletes Eldhose Paul, Avinash Sable have been nominated for the Arjuna Award this year.
Hockey star Hardik Singh lone recommendation for Khel Ratna; Divya, TJ & Mehuli for Arjuna
Sharath is the lone Khel Ratna award recipient, 25 sportspersons, including shuttlers Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy, woman boxer Nikhat Zareen, track and field athletes Eldhose Paul and Avinash Sable, were conferred with the Arjuna Award.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya presented the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award to badminton stars Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy.
Union Ayush Minister Prataprao Jadhav has written to Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, recommending Olympic medallist Mirabai Chanu for the Arjuna Award. Despite having received higher honours like the Khel Ratna and Padma Shri, Chanu's childhood dream of the Arjuna Award remains unfulfilled, and Jadhav believes it would be a fitting recognition of her contributions to Indian sport.
AIFF President Praful Patel congratulated Chhetri on being conferred with the Khel Ratna.
Bajrang Punia had won gold medals at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games last year.
Paralympic gold-winners Avani Lekhara, Sumit Antil, Pramod Bhagat, Krishna Nagar, Manish Narwal were also given the Khel Ratna at a dazzling awards ceremony on Saturday.
Olympic bronze-winning Indian men's hockey team captain Manpreet Singh was on Tuesday added to the list of Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna awardees, taking the total number of this year's winners to an unparalleled 12.
Shooter Manu Bhaker won two bronze medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics while Gukesh was crowned the World Chess Champion in Singapore, last month.
On November 30, President Droupadi Murmu presented the Sports and Adventure Awards 2022 at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Vinesh Phogat returned her Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award to the government protesting against the election of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh-loyalist Sanjay Singh.
Sports Ministry confirms Satwik, Chirag for Khel Ratna, Shami and 25 others for Arjuna award
Rani Rampal led the team to historic victories in the Women's Asia Cup in 2017, silver at the 2018 Asian Games and played a critical role in the FIH Olympic Qualifiers in 2019 by scoring the deciding goal that helped India qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
The Sports Ministry is set to commence the nomination process for the National Sports Awards next month, following a delayed announcement of the 2025 awards. The delay was due to a re-evaluation process aimed at preserving the integrity of the honours, which resulted in no Khel Ratna awardee for 2025 and fewer Arjuna awardees than recommended. The article also details the criteria for these prestigious awards and highlights some of the notable Arjuna awardees for 2025.
Sports Minister hands over trophies to 2020 National Sports Awards winners
Indian men's hockey team captain Harmanpreet Singh said the honour is a recognition of his "fascinating" journey in which he still has plenty more to achieve.
Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat are in contention for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award
Deepa Malik became the first Indian woman para-athlete and the oldest to be conferred the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award
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.
Praveen Kumar, a para-athlete who overcame physical limitations to excel in high jump, will be awarded the Padma Shri for his contributions to Indian para sport. He is a Paralympic champion and Arjuna Award recipient.
Shami was there to receive the honours. He took 24 wickets in seven World Cup games last year.
India's limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma, star wrestler Vinesh Phogat, TT player Manika Batra and Paralympic gold-winning high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu were on Tuesday picked for this year's Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award by the sports ministry's selection committee.
The committee also picked 19 sportspersons for the Arjuna Award, including the likes of cricketers Ravindra Jadeja and Poonam Yadav, track and field stars Tejinder Pal Singh Toor, Mohammed Anas and Swapna Barman.
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.
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.
Bajrang Punia met Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and said he has been assured that his case will be looked into.
The National Sports Awards in India have been delayed due to a re-evaluation process aimed at ensuring only deserving athletes receive the honour. The Sports Ministry is reassessing Arjuna Award recommendations to maintain the award's value and avoid controversies.
Manpreet Singh on Wednesday became India's most-capped hockey player with his 413th appearance for the country during the FIH Pro League match against Germany in Rotterdam.
The National Sports Awards have been delayed due to a re-evaluation process by the Sports Ministry to ensure only deserving athletes are honoured. The ministry aims to establish clearer criteria to avoid controversies and ensure deserving athletes are recognised without unnecessary hurdles.
Bhaker said the award selection panel would have followed due processes but sometimes errors can happen.
Tamil Nadu has been been churning out top-tier chess for decades at an unrivaled rate. Out of the 85 Grand Masters in India, 31 are from the southern state.
Star Indian pistol shooter Manu Bhaker was named the BBC Indian Sportswoman of the Year, following her outstanding performance at the Paris Olympics.
Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Thursday wrote to Dipa Karmakar conveying his surprise at her decision to retire, a couple of days after the trailblazing Indian gymnast called time on her career.
Indian table tennis legend A Sharath Kamal has announced that the WTT Contender Chennai, scheduled for March 25-30, will be his last tournament as a professional athlete.
