The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announced the National Sports Awards 2025 on August 18, 2026, with 17 athletes selected for the prestigious Arjuna Award. The list includes athletes Tejaswin Shankar and Priyanka Goswami, badminton players Treesa Jolly and Pullela Gayatri Gopichand, and hockey stars Lalremsiami and Rajkumar Pal.
The winners were chosen following recommendations from a selection panel headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice (Retd.) Arun Kumar Mishra, alongside sportspersons, sports journalists and administrators. The Arjuna Award recognises outstanding sporting performances over the previous four years, while also taking into account an athlete’s leadership, sportsmanship and discipline.
Meet the 17 Indian Sportspersons Honoured
| Award | Winner | Sport/Category |
|---|---|---|
| Arjuna Award | Tejaswin Shankar | Athletics |
| Arjuna Award | Muhammed Ajmal V | Athletics |
| Arjuna Award | Priyanka Goswami | Athletics |
| Arjuna Award | Treesa Jolly | Badminton |
| Arjuna Award | Pullela Gayatri Gopichand | Badminton |
| Arjuna Award | Narender | Boxing |
| Arjuna Award | Vidit Santosh Gujarathi | Chess |
| Arjuna Award | Divya Jitendra Deshmukh | Chess |
| Arjuna Award | Dhanush Srikanth | Deaf Shooting |
| Arjuna Award | Lalremsiami | Hockey |
| Arjuna Award | Rajkumar Pal | Hockey |
| Arjuna Award | Surjeet | Kabaddi |
| Arjuna Award | Pooja | Kabaddi |
| Arjuna Award | Rudransh Khandelwal | Para-Shooting |
| Arjuna Award | Ekta Bhyan | Para Athletics |
| Arjuna Award | Arvind Singh | Rowing |
| Arjuna Award | Akhil Sheoran | Shooting |
| Arjuna Award (Lifetime) | I. Arumainayagam | Football |
| Dronacharya Award (Regular) | Parveer Singh | Athletics |
| Dronacharya Award (Regular) | Chhote Lal Yadav | Boxing |
| Dronacharya Award (Regular) | Neha Nandkumar Chavan | Shooting |
| Dronacharya Award (Lifetime) | Dharmendra Singh Yadav | Boxing |
| Dronacharya Award (Lifetime) | Virender Kumar | Wrestling |
| Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar | Army Paralympic Node, Pune | Sports Promotion and Development |
Arjuna Award Criteria and No Khel Ratna Recipient in 2025
The Arjuna Award recognises athletes for strong performances over the previous four years, along with their leadership, sportsmanship and discipline. According to a PIB release, the honour is awarded to sportspersons who have consistently excelled while demonstrating the qualities expected of a role model in their sport.
There was no Khel Ratna recipient in 2025, marking a contrast with the previous year when four athletes received India’s highest sporting honour. Chess star D Gukesh, hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh, para-athlete Praveen Kumar and Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker were honoured in 2024 for their standout achievements, including Gukesh becoming the youngest world chess champion and Bhaker winning two medals at the Paris Olympics.
