National Sports Awards 2025: 17 Arjuna nominees announced, including Tejaswin Shankar and Divya Deshmukh

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.➡️ @YASMinistry announces National Sports Awards 2025➤ Arjuna Awards for outstanding performance in Sports and Games 2025➤ Arjuna Awards (Lifetime) for outstanding performance in Sports and Games 2025➤ Dronacharya Award for outstanding coaches in Sports and Games 2025… pic.twitter.com/4acWYWR0lf— PIB India (@PIB_India) August 18, 2026 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."The Winners of the National Sports Awards ✨#NationalSportsAwards2025 pic.twitter.com/pha4xt7GJs— Dept of Sports, Govt of India (@IndiaSports) August 18, 2026 National Sports Awards 2025: Tejaswin Shankar, Vidit Gujarathi, Divya Deshmukh Among 17 Sportspersons Named For Arjuna AwardWhat 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.

Divya Deshmukh, Tejaswin Shankar, Vidit Gujrathi among 17 athletes selected for the Arjuna Award; Army Paralympic Node gets Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar.

New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announced the National Awards 2025, with athlete Tejaswin Shankar, chess stars Vidit Gujarathi, Divya Deshmukh and badminton duo of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly among those nominated for the Arjuna Awards.National Sports Awards 2025 Announced The Arjuna, Dronacharya, and Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar 2025 awards are out! Full list https://t.co/rgfAf1tMgX#NationalSportsAwards2025 #KheloIndia— Dept of Sports, Govt of India (@IndiaSports) August 18, 2026 The National Sports Awards are given every year to recognise and reward excellence in sports. Based on the recommendations of the Selection Committee chaired by a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice (Retd.) Arun Kumar Mishra, the Government has decided to confer awards on the following sportspersons, coaches and entities under various categories, as per a press release from the ministry.The 'Arjuna Award for outstanding performance in Sports and Games' is given for good performance over a period of the previous four years and for showing qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and a sense of discipline.The athletes set to receive the award are: Tejaswin Shankar (athletics), Muhammad Ajmal Variyathodi (athletics), Priyanka Goswami (athletics), Treesa Jolly (badminton), Gayatri Gopichand (badminton), Narender (boxing), Vidit Santosh Gujarathi (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-shooting), Arvind Singh (rowing) and Akhil Sheoran (shooting).David Warner Convicted In Drink-Driving Case, Fined AUD 1,500 As Sydney Thunder Captaincy Hangs In Doubt The Arjuna Awards (Lifetime) for outstanding performance in Sports and Games 2025 will be given to players who have contributed to sports by their performance and continue to contribute to the promotion of sports even after they retire from active sporting careers.Former Indian footballer and coach Arumainayagam (Football) will be receiving the award.The Dronacharya Award for outstanding coaches in Sports and Games will be given to coaches for doing outstanding and meritorious work on a consistent basis and for enabling sportspersons to excel in International events.Parveer Singh (athletics), Chhote Lal Yadav (boxing) and Neha Nandkumar Chavan (shooting) will be among the recipients in the regular category, while Dharmendra Singh Yadav (boxing) and Virender Kumar (wrestling) will receive the lifetime honours.IND Vs SL 1st Test: Sooriyabandara Makes Debut As Concussion Sub After Chandimal Is Ruled Out After Neck Injury The 'Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar' will also be given to corporate entities (Public/Private), non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that have played a visible role in the area of sports promotion and development.Army Paralympic Node, Pune will be receiving the 'Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar' award.The applications for the aforementioned awards were invited online, and sportspersons/coaches/entities were permitted to self-apply through a dedicated Online Portal.A large number of applications were received for these awards this year, which were considered by the Selection Committee headed by Justice (Retd.) Mishra, and consisting of members from eminent sportspersons, persons having experience in sports journalism and sports administrators.(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)