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National Sports Awards 2024

National Sports Awards 2024

05-01-2025
  1. In January 2025, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announced the National Sports Awards 2024, honoring the nation’s finest athletes, coaches, and institutions.
  2. The awards, which will be conferred by the President of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 17, 2025, celebrate exceptional contributions to Indian sports across multiple disciplines.

Highlights of the Awards

The awards include six major categories:

  1. Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award
  2. Arjuna Awards
  3. Arjuna Awards (Lifetime)
  4. Dronacharya Awards
  5. Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar
  6. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy

Awards

Recipients

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award: It is the highest sporting honour in India. It is awarded for spectacular and outstanding performance in sports over the previous four years. Recipients receive a medallion, a certificate, and a cash prize.
  • Gukesh D (Chess)
  • Harmanpreet Singh (Hockey)
  • Praveen Kumar (Para-Athletics)
  • Manu Bhaker (Shooting)

Arjuna Awards for outstanding performance: It recognizes consistent performance over four years, along with qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, and discipline. Awardees receive a statuette of Arjuna, a certificate, and a cash prize.
  • Athletics: Jyothi Yarraji, Annu Rani
  • Boxing: Nitu Ghanghas, Saweety Boora
  • Chess: Vantika Agrawal
  • Hockey: Salima Tete, Abhishek Nain, Sanjay Rana, Jarmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh
  • Para-Sports: Rakesh Kumar (Archery), Navdeep (Athletics), Nitesh Kumar (Badminton), Rubina Francis (Shooting)
  • Other Disciplines: Swapnil Kusale (Shooting), Abhay Singh (Squash), Aman Sehrawat (Wrestling)

Arjuna Awards (Lifetime) for outstanding performance: These awards honor retired athletes who have significantly contributed to sports even after their active careers.
  • Sucha Singh (Athletics)
  • Murlikant Rajaram Petkar (Para-Swimming), India’s first Paralympic gold medalist (1972 Heidelberg Games).

Dronacharya Awards for Coaches: It honors coaches who have consistently produced medal-winning athletes.

Regular Category:

  • Subhash Rana (Para-Shooting)
  • Deepali Deshpande (Shooting)
  • Sandeep Sangwan (Hockey)

Lifetime Category:

  • S. Muralidharan (Badminton)
  • Armando Colaco (Football)

Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar: This award recognizes entities for their contributions to sports promotion and development over the last three years.
  • Awardee: Physical Education Foundation of India

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy: The MAKA Trophy is awarded annually to the best-performing university in inter-university tournaments.
  • Chandigarh University (Overall Winner)
  • Lovely Professional University (1st Runner-Up)
  • Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (2nd Runner-Up)

Award Selection Process

  1. This year, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports introduced an online application process, allowing sportspersons, coaches, and entities to self-nominate.
  2. A large number of applications were reviewed by a selection committee chaired by Justice (Retd.) V. Ramasubramanian of the Supreme Court.
  3. The panel included eminent sportspersons, sports journalists, and administrators.

Significance of the Awards

  1. The National Sports Awards play a vital role in:
  1. Recognizing excellence in sports.
  2. Motivating athletes to achieve greater heights.
  3. Encouraging institutions to promote sports development.
  1. These honours underscore India’s commitment to fostering talent and celebrating achievements in the sporting arena.
  1. In January 2025, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announced the National Sports Awards 2024, honoring the nation’s finest athletes, coaches, and institutions.
  2. The awards, which will be conferred by the President of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 17, 2025, celebrate exceptional contributions to Indian sports across multiple disciplines.

Highlights of the Awards

The awards include six major categories:

  1. Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award
  2. Arjuna Awards
  3. Arjuna Awards (Lifetime)
  4. Dronacharya Awards
  5. Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar
  6. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy

Awards

Recipients

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award: It is the highest sporting honour in India. It is awarded for spectacular and outstanding performance in sports over the previous four years. Recipients receive a medallion, a certificate, and a cash prize.
  • Gukesh D (Chess)
  • Harmanpreet Singh (Hockey)
  • Praveen Kumar (Para-Athletics)
  • Manu Bhaker (Shooting)

Arjuna Awards for outstanding performance: It recognizes consistent performance over four years, along with qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, and discipline. Awardees receive a statuette of Arjuna, a certificate, and a cash prize.
  • Athletics: Jyothi Yarraji, Annu Rani
  • Boxing: Nitu Ghanghas, Saweety Boora
  • Chess: Vantika Agrawal
  • Hockey: Salima Tete, Abhishek Nain, Sanjay Rana, Jarmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh
  • Para-Sports: Rakesh Kumar (Archery), Navdeep (Athletics), Nitesh Kumar (Badminton), Rubina Francis (Shooting)
  • Other Disciplines: Swapnil Kusale (Shooting), Abhay Singh (Squash), Aman Sehrawat (Wrestling)

Arjuna Awards (Lifetime) for outstanding performance: These awards honor retired athletes who have significantly contributed to sports even after their active careers.
  • Sucha Singh (Athletics)
  • Murlikant Rajaram Petkar (Para-Swimming), India’s first Paralympic gold medalist (1972 Heidelberg Games).

Dronacharya Awards for Coaches: It honors coaches who have consistently produced medal-winning athletes.

Regular Category:

  • Subhash Rana (Para-Shooting)
  • Deepali Deshpande (Shooting)
  • Sandeep Sangwan (Hockey)

Lifetime Category:

  • S. Muralidharan (Badminton)
  • Armando Colaco (Football)

Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar: This award recognizes entities for their contributions to sports promotion and development over the last three years.
  • Awardee: Physical Education Foundation of India

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy: The MAKA Trophy is awarded annually to the best-performing university in inter-university tournaments.
  • Chandigarh University (Overall Winner)
  • Lovely Professional University (1st Runner-Up)
  • Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (2nd Runner-Up)

Award Selection Process

  1. This year, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports introduced an online application process, allowing sportspersons, coaches, and entities to self-nominate.
  2. A large number of applications were reviewed by a selection committee chaired by Justice (Retd.) V. Ramasubramanian of the Supreme Court.
  3. The panel included eminent sportspersons, sports journalists, and administrators.

Significance of the Awards

  1. The National Sports Awards play a vital role in:
  1. Recognizing excellence in sports.
  2. Motivating athletes to achieve greater heights.
  3. Encouraging institutions to promote sports development.
  1. These honours underscore India’s commitment to fostering talent and celebrating achievements in the sporting arena.

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