National Sports Awards 2025 Announced: Key Winners List

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports declared the National Sports Awards 2025 on August 18, 2026, for the distinguished performances by individuals in different sporting events. A total of 17 sportspersons are being honoured by the ministry with the prestigious Arjuna Awards that include chess World Cup winner Divya Deshmukh, badminton player Gayatri Gopichand, Grandmaster Vidit Gujurathi and athelete Tejaswin Shankar. The Glasgow Commonwealth Games silver medallist boxer Narender and deaf rifle shooter Dhanush Srikanth are also in the list of awardees

Who Has Been Selected for Arjuna Awards?

The Arjuna Awards are being given to distinguished sportspersons for their extraordinary performance in sports and games.

Among the most distinguished awardees are,

Divya Deshmukh – Chess
Gayatri Gopichand – Badminton
Treesa Jolly – Badminton
Vidit Gujurathi – Chess
Tejaswin Shankar – Athletics
Narender – Boxing
Dhanush Srikanth – Shooting

The recognition of Divya Deshmukh follows her stellar performance in international chess competition and Gayatri Gopichand & Treesa Jolly have been recognized for their women’s doubles performance in badminton.

No Khel Ratna Award Announced

One of the significant features of the National Sports Awards 2025 announcement is that the Ministry of Sports did not declare any awardee for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award.

The Khel Ratna award is considered the highest sporting honour in India.

It recognizes the exceptional achievements of sports persons in the international competitions.

Arjuna Awards for Lifetime Achievement

Mr. I Arumainayagam, a former football player who was part of the gold-winning team of India at the 1962 Asian Games, has been chosen for the Arjuna Award in Lifetime Achievement category.

He has been recognized due to his contribution to Indian football and his achievements in Indian teams’ successful campaign at the Asian Games.

Winners of Dronacharya Awards

There are several awards given by the government to recognize the efforts put forth by coaches for nurturing talent in sports.

The Dronacharya Award for best coaches of Sports and Games has been awarded to,

Parveer Singh – Athletics
Chhote Lal Yadav – Boxing
Neha Nandkumar Chavan – Shooting

It recognizes those coaches who have played an important role in generating and nurturing the talents of their wards.

Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 2025

Pune based Army Paralympic Node has won the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 2025.

This is given to corporate entities, organizations, whether public or private and NGOs for their contribution towards promotion and development of sports.

How Were the National Sports Awards Chosen?

As per the statement from the Sports Ministry, the decision was made based on the recommendation of the Selection Committee headed by Justice (Retired) Arun Kumar Mishra who is a retired justice of the Supreme Court of India.

The committee evaluated the contributions made by athletes and other entities.

Category Wise Winners Full List

1. Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games 2025

Sr. No	Name of Sportsperon	Discipline
1	Tejaswin Shankar	Athletics
2	Muhammed Ajmal V	Athletics
3	Priyanka Goswami	Athletics
4	Treesa Jolly	Badminton
5	Pullela Gayatri Gopichand	Badminton
6	Narender	Boxing
7	Vidit Santosh Gujarathi	Chess
8	Divya Jitendra Deshmukh	Chess
9	Dhanush Srikanth	Deaf Shooting
10	Lalremsiami	Hockey
11	Rajkumar Pal	Hockey
12	Surjeet	Kabaddi
13	Pooja	Kabaddi
14	Rudransh Khandelwal	Para-Shooting
15	Ekta Bhyan	Para-Athletics
16	Arvind Singh	Rowing
17	Akhil Sheoran	Shooting