National Sports Awards Announced; Malayalees Treesa Jolly, Mohammed Afsal among 17 to receive Arjuna Award

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has announced the National Sports Awards 2025, with Malayali athletes Treesa Jolly and Mohammed Ajmal V among the 17 sportspersons selected for the prestigious Arjuna Award. However, no athlete has been selected for the country's highest sporting honour, the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, this year.

The awards were announced based on the recommendations of a selection committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Arun Kumar Mishra.

Athletics coach Parveer Singh, boxing coach Chhote Lal Yadav, and shooting coach Neha Nandkumar Chavan have been selected for the Dronacharya Award. In the Lifetime category, boxing coach Dharmendra Singh Yadav and wrestling coach Virendra Kumar have also been chosen.

Former footballer I Arumainayagam has been selected for the Lifetime category of the Arjuna Award. Other Arjuna Award recipients include high jumper Tejaswin Shankar; sprinters Mohammed Ajmal V and Priyanka Goswami; badminton players Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand; chess players Vidit Gujrathi and Divya Deshmukh; hockey players Lalremsiami and Rajkumar Pal; shooter Akhil Sheoran; para-shooter Rudransh Khandelwal; and para-athlete Ekta Bhyan. Rower Arvind Singh, boxers Arvind Singh and Narendra, kabaddi players Surjeet and Pooja, and deaf shooter Dhanush Srikanth are among the other awardees listed.

Arumainayagam, who has been selected for the Dronacharya Award, was a member of the Indian football team that won gold at the 1962 Asian Games. He also won three Durand Cup titles during his playing career.

The Arjuna Award is presented in recognition of outstanding performances over the past four years, along with qualities such as leadership, sportsmanship and discipline.

No sportsperson has been selected for the Khel Ratna Award in 2025. In 2024, four athletes received the country's highest sporting honour: chess world champion D Gukesh, Indian men's hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh, para-athlete Praveen Kumar, and Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker. Gukesh became eligible for the Khel Ratna after becoming the world chess champion in December 2024, while Manu Bhaker made history as the first Indian athlete in the post-Independence era to win two medals at a single Olympics.