πŸ† National Sports & Achievement Awards - India πŸ†

India honors its finest athletes, coaches, and adventure heroes every year through prestigious national awards. These awards recognize excellence in performance, commitment, and lifetime contribution to Indian sports.


Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award

  • Instituted : 1991-92
  • Awarded For : Most outstanding performance by a sportsperson over the past 4 years.
  • Includes : Medallion, Certificate, β‚Ή25 lakh cash prize
  • Trivia : Renamed in 2021 from β€œRajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna” to honor hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand.

πŸ… Notable Recipients by Year:

Year Recipient Discipline Image
1991 Viswanathan Anand Chess Viswanathan Anand
2007 Mahendra Singh Dhoni Cricket M S Dhoni
2016 P. V. Sindhu Badminton P V Sindhu
2021 Sunil Chhetri Football Sunil Chhetri
2024 Harmanpreet Singh Hockey Harmanpreet Singh

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Arjuna Award

  • Instituted : 1961
  • Awarded For : Consistent outstanding performance over the past 4 years.
  • Includes : Bronze Arjuna statuette, Certificate, Ceremonial Dress, β‚Ή15 lakh cash prize
  • Note : Also considers leadership, discipline, and sportsmanship.

πŸ… Notable Recipients by Year:

Year Recipient Sports Image
2010 Dinesh Kumar Boxing Dinesh Kumar
2012 Dipika Pallikal Squash Dipika Pallikal
2015 Anup Kumar Yama Roller Skating Anup Kumar Yama
2018 Neeraj Chopra Athletics Neeraj Chopra
2024 Aman Sehrawat Wrestling Aman Sehrawat

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Dronacharya Award

  • Instituted : 1985
  • Awarded To : Coaches who produce international medal winners.
  • Includes : Bronze statuette of Guru Dronacharya, Certificate, Ceremonial Dress, β‚Ή15 lakh
  • Categories : Regular and Lifetime Contribution

πŸ… Notable Recipients by Year:

Year Recipient Why Famous in this Field Image
1985 Om Prakash Bhardwaj Boxing
One of the first-ever coaches to receive this award		 Om Prakash Bhardwaj
1985 O. M. Nambiar Athletics
Pioneering athletics coach, honored in the inaugural year		 O. M. Nambiar
1987 Guru Hanuman Wrestling
Legendary wrestling guru who trained multiple champions		 Guru Hanuman
2009 Pullela Gopichand Badminton
Olympic-level badminton coach and academy founder		 Pullela Gopichand
2016 Bishweshwar Nandi Gymnastics
Coached Olympic gymnast Dipa Karmakar		 Bishweshwar Nandi

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Dhyan Chand Award

  • Instituted : 2002
  • Awarded For : Lifetime contribution to sports development
  • Includes : Statuette of Dhyan Chand, Certificate, Ceremonial Dress, β‚Ή10 lakh cash prize
  • Focus : Recognizes retired sportspersons' continued efforts in sports promotion.

πŸ… Notable Recipients by Year:

Year Recipient Field Image
2002 Shahuraj Birajdar Boxing Shahuraj Birajdar
2005 Maruti Mane Wrestling Maruti Mane
2007 Varinder Singh Hockey Varinder Singh
2011 Shabbir Ali Football Shabbir Ali
2014 K. P. Thakkar Swimming K. P. Thakkar

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Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar

  • Instituted : 2009
  • Awarded For : Individuals and organizations (public or private) for visible efforts
    in sports promotion and development over the past 3 years.
  • Examples : NGOs, sports academies, private clubs, PSUs.

πŸ… Notable Recipients by Year:

Year Category Entity
2009 Employment of Sportspersons and Sports Welfare Measures Railways Sports Promotion Board
2013 Employment of Sportspersons and Sports Welfare Measures Petroleum Sports Promotion Board
2017 Encouragement to Sports through Corporate Social Responsibility Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation
2021 Identification and nurturing of the sports talent over the past 25 years Manav Rachna Educational Institutions(MREI)
2024 Sports for Development Physical Education Foundation of India

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Anthem