New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu presented the National Sports Awards 2025 at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday. Seventeen athletes, including chess players Divya Deshmukh and Vidit Gujrathi, athlete Tejaswin Shankar, and badminton players Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, were honored with the Arjuna Award. Footballer Isaiah Arumanayagam was honored with the Arjuna Award in the ‘Lifetime Achievement’ category. Additionally, the Dronacharya Award was presented to three coaches in the ‘Regular’ category and two coaches in the ‘Lifetime Achievement’ category. The Army Paralympic Node in Pune was conferred with the ‘Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar’ (National Sports Promotion Award). Notably, no athlete received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award—the country’s highest sporting honor—this year. This marks the first time since 2014 that no athlete has been conferred with the Khel Ratna Award.
At the ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Dronacharya Award was presented to athletics coach Parveer Singh, boxing coach Chhote Lal Yadav, and shooting coach Neha Nandkumar Chavan. Meanwhile, wrestling coach Virender Kumar and boxing coach Dharmendra Singh Yadav were honored with the Dronacharya Award in the ‘Lifetime Achievement’ category. Furthermore, the Army Paralympic Node, based in Pune, received the ‘Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar’; the award was accepted by Lieutenant Colonel Daljit Singh on behalf of the institution.
The recipients of the Arjuna Award include chess players Divya Deshmukh and Vidit Gujrathi, decathlete Tejaswin Shankar, athlete Muhammed Ajmal V., and race walker Priyanka Goswami. In badminton, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand received the honor, as did boxer Narendra, hockey players Lalremsiami and Rajkumar Pal, and kabaddi players Surjeet and Pooja. In addition to these, para-shooters Dhanush Srikanth and Rudransh Khandelwal, para-athlete Ekta Bhyan, rower Arvind Singh, and shooter Akhil Sheoran were also honored with the Arjuna Award.
Divya Deshmukh earned the distinction of becoming the first Indian woman to win the FIDE Women’s World Cup in 2025. Prior to this, she won a gold medal as part of the Indian women’s team at the 2024 Chess Olympiad, where she also secured an individual gold medal. Vidit Gujrathi was a member of the Indian men’s team that won a gold medal at the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad in 2024; he also won the FIDE Grand Swiss tournament in 2023.
Tejaswin Shankar won a bronze medal in the high jump at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, followed by a silver medal in the decathlon at the 2023 Asian Games. He also secured a silver medal in the decathlon at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships. Muhammed Ajmal V. was part of the Indian team that won gold in the men’s 4x400m relay and silver in the mixed relay at the 2023 Asian Games. Priyanka Goswami won a silver medal in the 10km race walk at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Badminton players Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand won a gold medal at the 2024 Badminton Asia Team Championships. The duo also secured a silver medal in the mixed team event and a bronze in the women’s doubles at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. However, they could not attend the awards ceremony as they were participating in the Japan Masters tournament. Hockey player Rajkumar Pal was a member of the Indian men’s team that won a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Lalremsiami has won medals at the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games as part of the Indian women’s hockey team. Kabaddi players Surjeet and Pooja also secured gold medals at the 2023 Asian Games.
In para-sports, Dhanush Srikanth won two gold medals—in the individual and mixed team 10m air rifle events—at the 2024 World Deaf Shooting Championships. Rudransh Khandelwal won silver medals at the 2023 Asian Para Games and the World Championships. Ekta Bhyan won a gold medal in the club throw event at the 2024 World Championships. Rower Arvind Singh secured a silver medal at the 2023 Asian Games. Shooter Akhil Sheoran won medals at the 2023 World Championships and the Asian Games.
Isaiah Arumanayagam, a member of the Indian football team that won gold at the 1962 Asian Games, was honored with the Arjuna Award in the lifetime achievement category. He was also part of the Indian team that won a silver medal at the 1964 AFC Asian Cup.
Among the recipients of the Dronacharya Award, Parveer Singh has coached athletes Tajinderpal Singh Toor and Annu Rani. Chhotelal Yadav has trained boxers MC Mary Kom, Jaismine, and Sakshi. Athletes trained by Neha Nandkumar Chavan include shooters Elavenil Valarivan, Ramita, and Dhanush Srikanth. Wrestling coach Virender Kumar, honored in the lifetime achievement category, has trained athletes such as Sushil Kumar, Ravi Kumar, Amit Kumar, and Deepak Punia. Boxers trained by coach Dharmendra Singh Yadav include Vikas Krishan, Manjeet Jangra, and Manish Kaushik. The Army Paralympic Node, based in Pune, was established on 23 June 2017 at the BEG & Centre in Khadki. Its objective is to [support those who, while] on duty…
