National Sports Awards 2025 Announced; 17 Players Selected for Arjuna Award
New Delhi, August 18, 2026: The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has announced the National Sports Awards 2025, recognising outstanding achievements by sportspersons, coaches and organisations that have made significant contributions to the promotion and development of sports.
The awardees were selected on the basis of recommendations made by a selection committee headed by Justice (Retd.) Arun Kumar Mishra.
Arjuna Award 2025
A total of 17 sportspersons have been selected for the Arjuna Award 2025 for their outstanding performances in various sports and disciplines.
In athletics, the awardees include Tejaswin Shankar, Muhammed Ajmal V and Priyanka Goswami. In badminton, Treesa Jolly and Pullela Gayatri Gopichand have been selected.
Narender will receive the award for boxing, while chess players Vidit Santosh Gujarathi and Divya Jitendra Deshmukh have also been chosen for the honour.
In deaf shooting, Dhanush Srikanth has been selected. Hockey players Lalremsiami and Rajkumar Pal, and kabaddi players Surjeet and Pooja will also receive the Arjuna Award.
The list further includes Rudransh Khandelwal in para-shooting, Ekta Bhyan in para-athletics, Arvind Singh in rowing and Akhil Sheoran in shooting.
Arjuna Award for Lifetime Achievement
I. Arumainayagam from football has been selected for the Arjuna Award (Lifetime) 2025. The award recognises sportspersons who have excelled during their active sporting careers and continued to contribute to the promotion and development of sports after retirement.
Dronacharya Award 2025
The Dronacharya Award 2025 in the regular category will be presented to Parveer Singh for athletics, Chhote Lal Yadav for boxing and Neha Nandkumar Chavan for shooting.
In the Lifetime category, Dharmendra Singh Yadav from boxing and Virender Kumar from wrestling have been selected for the Dronacharya Award.
National Sports Promotion Award
The Army Paralympic Node, Pune, has been selected for the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 2025 for its contribution to the promotion and development of sports.
The award is presented to corporate entities and non-governmental organisations that make notable contributions towards strengthening and promoting sports.
Transparent Selection Process
According to the Ministry, applications for the National Sports Awards were invited online, allowing sportspersons, coaches and organisations to apply directly through a dedicated online portal.
A large number of applications were received this year and were examined by the selection committee headed by Justice (Retd.) Arun Kumar Mishra. The committee comprised eminent sportspersons, experienced sports journalists and sports administrators.
The National Sports Awards are presented annually to recognise excellence in sports and acknowledge individuals and organisations that have made significant contributions to India's sporting ecosystem.
