The Government of India has officially announced the prestigious National Sports Awards 2025, recognizing the exceptional contributions and achievements of athletes and coaches across various sporting disciplines. In a significant announcement made by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, a total of 17 prominent athletes have been selected for the Arjuna Award. This recognition comes as a testament to their hard work, dedication, and outstanding performance on the international stage over the past year. Along with the Arjuna Awards, the government has also declared the recipients of the Dronacharya Award, which honors the excellence of coaches who have shaped the careers of India's sporting icons.
The Selection Process and Committee
The National Sports Awards are presented annually to honor excellence in sports, recognizing athletes, coaches, and organizations that have made significant contributions to the field, while for the 2025 awards, the selection process was rigorous and transparent. The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports constituted a high-level selection committee to evaluate the nominations. This year, the committee was chaired by Justice (Retired) Arun Kumar Mishra, a former judge of the Supreme Court of India. Based on the comprehensive recommendations made by this committee, the Ministry finalized the list of awardees who have demonstrated consistent excellence and sportsmanship across various categories including Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Chess, Shooting, Hockey, and Kabaddi.
Arjuna Award 2025: List of Winners
The Arjuna Award is one of India's highest sporting honors, given for outstanding performance in sports and games. For the year 2025, 17 athletes have been chosen for this honor.
- Tejaswin Shankar (Athletics)
- Muhammad Ajmal V (Athletics)
- Priyanka Goswami (Athletics)
- Treesa Jolly (Badminton)
- Pullela Gayatri Gopichand (Badminton)
- Narendra (Boxing)
- Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (Chess)
- Divya Jitendra Deshmukh (Chess)
- Dhanush Srikanth (Deaf Shooting)
- Lalremsiami (Hockey)
- Rajkumar Pal (Hockey)
- Surjeet (Kabaddi)
- Pooja (Kabaddi)
- Rudransh Khandelwal (Para-Shooting)
- Ekta Bhyan (Para Athletics)
- Arvind Singh (Rowing)
- Akhil Sheoran (Shooting)
Lifetime Achievement and Coaching Excellence
In addition to the regular Arjuna Awards, the government also announced the Arjuna Award (Lifetime) for long-term contribution to sports. This year, I. Arumainayagam has been selected for this honor in the field of Football. This award is specifically designed for those athletes who performed exceptionally during their active careers and continued to contribute to the development of sports even after their retirement.
Dronacharya Award Recipients
The Dronacharya Award, which recognizes the crucial role of coaches, has been announced in two categories: Regular and Lifetime, while in the Regular Category, the awardees are Parveer Singh for Athletics, Chhote Lal Yadav for Boxing, and Neha Nandkumar Chavan for Shooting. In the Lifetime Category, the honors go to Dharmendra Singh Yadav for Boxing and Virender Kumar for Wrestling. These awards highlight the government's commitment to recognizing the mentors who work tirelessly behind the scenes to produce world-class athletes.