The Ministry of Youth and Sports have announced the National Sports Awards for 2025. From an initial list of 24 recommendations, the Ministry only approved 17 awardees. There was no Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna winner, with 2014 being the last year with no awardee.
World Cup winning chess player Divya Deshmukh, decathlete and high jumper Tejaswin Shankar and shuttler Gayatri Gopichand were among the 17 sportspersons named for the Arjuna Award on Tuesday.
Also on the Arjuna Award list were Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi, Gayatri Gopichand's women's doubles partner Treesa Jolly, Glasgow Commonwealth Games silver-medallist boxer Narender Berwal (+92kg), and young deaf rifle shooter Dhanush Srikanth. No cricketer was named for the second consecutive year.
As per PTI, the awards were announced following massive delay with the ministry announcing a re-evaluation process to ensure only worthy names were honoured to "preserve the integrity of the awards."
What do Arjuna award winners get?
The Arjuna Award is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The winners also receive a medallion and a citation. The medallion features Arjuna, while a ceremonial dress is also part of the ceremony.
