No Khel Ratna; Tejaswin Leads 17 Arjuna Awardees

Divya stunned the chess world by winning the FIDE Women’s World Cup 2025, becoming the first Indian woman to claim the prestigious title. In the all-Indian final, Divya defeated legendary compatriot Koneru Humpy 1.5–0.5 in the rapid tie-breaks to script a fairytale ending in Baku.

“Based on the recommendations of the Selection Committee chaired by a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, Justice (Retd.) Arun Kumar Mishra, the Government has decided to confer awards on the following sportspersons, coaches and entities under various categories,” the ministry said.

The ‘Arjuna Award for outstanding performance in Sports and Games’ is awarded for good performance over the previous four years and for demonstrating qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and discipline.

Meanwhile, veteran Indian footballer Isaiah Arumainayagam will be honoured with the Arjuna Award (Lifetime). He participated in the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games, where India won gold. He was also part of the Indian team that achieved second place at the 1964 AFC Asian Cup in Israel.

The ‘Arjuna Award (Lifetime)’ is given to honour and motivate those sportspersons who have contributed to sports by their performance and continue to contribute to the promotion of sports even after their retirement from active sporting careers.

Athletics coach Parveer Singh, boxing coach Chhote Lal Yadav and shooting coach Neha Nandkumar Chavan will be presented with the Dronacharya Award.

Meanwhile, Army Paralympic Node, Pune will be awarded with the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar. This award is given to a corporate entity or non-governmental organisation that has played a visible role in the area of sports promotion and development.

The National Sports Awards are given every year to recognise and reward excellence in sports.