No Khel Ratna winner for 2025 as Sports Ministry approves 17 Arjuna awardees
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No Khel Ratna nominees as Sports Ministry approves 17 athletes for Arjuna Awards Photograph: (Others)
The Sports Ministry has announced the National Sports Awards 2025, leaving the Khel Ratna vacant while naming 17 athletes, including Tejaswin Shankar and Divya Deshmukh, for the Arjuna Award.
The Sports Ministry has not named any athlete for the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, but announced 17 sportspersons for the Arjuna Award on Tuesday (Aug 18). India’s highest sporting honour, instituted in 1991/92, will have no recipient for 2025 – only for the third time in history and the first since 2014. The National Sports Awards selection committee, headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice (Retd) Arun Kumar Mishra, cleared the recommendations, and later forwarded them to sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya for final assent.
The development comes after three names- compound archer Jyothi Surekha and the Indian women's cricket team captain and her deputy, Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, respectively- were considered for the Khel Ratna, with the committee discussing those names at its meeting in New Delhi in December last year.
Although a Times of India (TOI) report claims that the names of the two women’s cricketers were discussed at length, the absence of a specific point-based system to assess cricket performances became a hindrance. Usually in such cases, the committee relies on the BCCI’s nominations, and the Indian Cricket Board made no nominations for this award last year.
Fast bowler Mohammed Shami was the last cricketer to be conferred with the prestigious Khel Ratna Award, which carries a cash prize of INR 25 lakh, a medallion and a citation, in 2023.
While there was no name for the top prize, the sports ministry named 17 athletes from different disciplines for the Arjuna Award for their excellence in their respective events last year.
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Here is the full list of 17 Arjuna Award winners –
Moreover, the sports ministry also conferred one Arjuna Award in the lifetime category on footballer I Arumainayagam.
On the other hand, the names of the coaches recommended for the Dronacharya Awards included Parveer Singh (Athletics), Chhote Lal Yadav (Boxing) and shooting coach Neha Nandkumar Chavan.
The lifetime category honours went to coaches Dharmendra Singh Yadav (Boxing) and Virender Kumar (Wrestling).
Besides, the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar for sports promotion and development has been awarded to Army Paralympic Node, Pune.
