Why in News?
The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports announced the National Sports Awards 2025 on 18 August 2026. The awards recognise outstanding achievements of sportspersons, coaches and organisations that have contributed to the development and promotion of sports in India. The winners were selected on the recommendations of a committee headed by Justice (Retd.) Arun Kumar Mishra, former Judge of the Supreme Court of India. The committee included eminent sportspersons, sports administrators and people with experience in sports journalism.
National Sports Awards
The National Sports Awards are presented every year to recognise excellence in sports, outstanding coaching and contributions to the promotion of sporting activities. The 2025 awards include:
- Arjuna Awards
- Arjuna Awards (Lifetime)
- Dronacharya Awards
- Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar
Arjuna Awards 2025
The Arjuna Award is given to sportspersons for outstanding performance over the previous four years. Apart from sporting achievements, the award also recognises qualities such as leadership, sportsmanship and discipline. A total of 17 sportspersons have been selected for the Arjuna Award 2025.
- Tejaswin Shankar: Athletics
- Muhammed Ajmal V: Athletics
- Priyanka Goswami: Athletics
- Treesa Jolly: Badminton
- Pullela 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-Athletics
- Arvind Singh: Rowing
- Akhil Sheoran: Shooting
Arjuna Award (Lifetime)
- The Arjuna Award (Lifetime) is given to sportspersons who have made significant contributions to Indian sports through their performances and continue to contribute to the promotion and development of sports after their active sporting careers.
- For 2025, I Arumainayagam has been selected for the award in football.
Dronacharya Awards 2025
- The Dronacharya Award honours coaches who have made outstanding and sustained contributions to sports and have helped athletes achieve success at national and international events. The award has been given in both Regular and Lifetime categories.
Dronacharya Award 2025 (Regular Category)
- Parveer Singh: Athletics
- Chhote Lal Yadav: Boxing
- Neha Nandkumar Chavan: Shooting
Dronacharya Award 2025 (Lifetime Category)
- Dharmendra Singh Yadav: Boxing
- Virender Kumar: Wrestling
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar 2025
- The Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar recognises organisations that have made a visible contribution to the promotion and development of sports.
- For 2025, the award has been given to Army Paralympic Node, Pune.
- The award highlights the role of institutions in supporting athletes and creating opportunities for sporting development, particularly in the field of para-sports.
