On Thursday, January 2, 2025, the Government of India has declared that star Shooter Manu Bhaker will receive Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The declaration came after a controversy involving her application for the award in which there was disagreement between Bhaker and the awards committee.
Shooter Manu Bhaker, chess world champion D. Gukesh, Men’s Hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh, and Para-athlete Praveen Kumar were announced as the recipients of this year’s Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, India’s highest sporting honor.
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announces the Khel Ratna Award for Olympic double medalist Manu Bhaker, Chess World Champion Gukesh D, Hockey team Captain Harmanpreet Singh, and Paralympic Gold medallist Praveen Kumar. pic.twitter.com/VD54E0EtEk— ANI (@ANI) January 2, 2025
At just 22, Bhaker made history by becoming the first athlete from independent India to win two medals in a single edition of the Olympics. She earned bronze in both the 10m air pistol individual and the 10m air pistol mixed team events at the Tokyo Olympics in August.
During the same Olympics, Harmanpreet Singh was the Indian hockey team’s skipper for their historic back-to-back consecutive second bronze.
18-year-old D. Gukesh has won the championship to become the world chess champion and the youngest of all times and led India to win gold at Chess Olympiad last year.
Praveen Kumar, a para high jumper, will also receive the prestigious award. He clinched the T64 championship at the Paris Paralympics. The T64 classification includes athletes who have lost one or both legs below the knee and use prosthetic legs to compete in running events.
The awardees will receive their honors from the President of India at a special ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 17, 2025, at 11:00 AM, according to a press release from the Sports Ministry of India.
Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over the period of the previous four years.
The Government of India has also released the list of the sportsmen who would be honored for their extraordinary performance.
National Sports Awards 2024: Honors for Excellence in Indian Sports.
The National Sports Awards 2024 have been announced to commemorate outstanding achievements in Indian sports. The prestigious award will be provided to athletes, coaches, institutions, and organizations in recognition of outstanding contributions to the world of sports.
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Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games 2024
This is one of the highest Arjuna Awards in India that recognises excellence in athletes. It honours in their distinguished performances, outstanding leadership, extraordinary discipline, and exemplary sportsman spirit over four consecutive years. Below are the beneficiaries of the award:
Athletics
- Ms. Jyothi Yarraji
Ms. Annu Rani
Boxing
- Ms. Nitu
- Ms. Saweety
Chess
- Ms. Vantika Agrawal
Hockey
- Ms. Salima Tete
- Shri Abhishek
- Shri Sanjay
- Shri Jarmanpreet Singh
- Shri Sukhjeet Singh
Para-Archery
- Shri Rakesh Kumar
Para-Athletics
- Ms. Preeti Pal
- Ms. Jeevanji Deepthi
- Shri Ajeet Singh
- Shri Sachin Sarjerao Khilari
- Shri Dharambir
- Shri Pranav Soorma
- Shri H Hokato Sema
- Ms. Simran
- Shri Navdeep
Para-Badminton:
- Shri Nitesh Kumar
- Ms. Thulasimathi Murugesan
- Ms. Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan
- Ms. Manisha Ramadass
Para-Judo:
- Shri Kapil Parmar
Para-Shooting:
- Ms. Mona Agarwal
- Ms. Rubina Francis
Shooting:
- Shri Swapnil Suresh Kusale
- Shri Sarabjot Singh
Squash:
- Shri Abhay Singh
Swimming:
- Shri Sajan Prakash
- Wrestling:
- Shri Aman
Arjuna Award (Lifetime Achievement) 2024
The Arjuna Lifetime Achievement Award is bestowed upon retired sports persons who have not only done outstanding work in their sporting careers but have also rendered exemplary service for the promotion of sports. The following have been awarded this coveted honor:
- Shri Sucha Singh (Athletics)
- Shri Murlikant Rajaram Petkar (Para-Swimming)
Dronacharya Award for Outstanding Coaches in Sports and Games 2024
The Dronacharya award is given out to coaches and trainers who guided athletes to successes in international grounds. The winner for 2024 are of the following kind:
Regular Category:
- Shri Subhash Rana (Para-Shooting)
- Ms. Deepali Deshpande (Shooting)
- Shri Sandeep Sangwan (Hockey)
- Lifetime Category:
- Shri S. Muralidharan (Badminton)
- Shri Armando Agnelo Colaco (Football)
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar 2024
It is an honorary award given by the government, which recognizes significant contributions made for the promotion of sports in the country. To be awarded Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar 2024 is presented to:
Physical Education Foundation of India
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy 2024
The Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy is conferred upon the best overall performing university in the Khelo India University Games. The winners of the trophy for the year 2024 are:
- Chandigarh University – Overall Winner
- Lovely Professional University (Punjab) – 1st Runner Up
- Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar – 2nd Runner Up
- Understanding National Sports Awards
These awards aim at encouraging and rewarding excellence in Indian sports. The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is India’s highest sports honor, meant to recognize achievements over the past four years for any athlete who has done extraordinary work.
The Arjuna Award rewards those who have provided exemplary performances in sports and excellent leadership qualities within their respective sporting careers. The Arjuna Lifetime Achievement award honors athletes for contributions made in sports development post retirement.
The Dronacharya Award honors coaches who have groomed international sporting champions through commitment and professional expertise. The last of these awards is the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy, which is bestowed on institutions that do exceptionally well in the nurturing of talent and supporting grassroots sports development.
These awards go hand in hand to motivate and inspire athletes as well as organisations across the nation to perform even better in their respective fields in the sports sector.