Sports Ministry Declines Khel Ratna for 2025; Names 17 Arjuna Awardees After Revaluation

The Sports Ministry has decided against bestowing the Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award on any athlete for the year 2025. The announcement came alongside a significantly pruned list of 17 Arjuna awardees following an unprecedented revaluation of recommendations made by the selection panel more than six months ago.

Hockey player Hardik Singh was considered for the country's highest sporting honour by the selection panel, which was headed by former Supreme Court Judge Arun Kumar Mishra. However, Singh eventually fell out of contention. The last instance in which the country did not name a Khel Ratna recipient was in 2014.

Among the 17 sportspersons named for the Arjuna Award are World Cup winning chess player Divya Deshmukh, decathlete and high jumper Tejaswin Shankar, and shuttler Gayatri Gopichand. The selection committee had initially recommended 24 names for the Arjuna Award, but the ministry approved only 17 after a revaluation process intended to preserve the integrity of the awards.

Other notable names on the Arjuna Award list include Grandmaster Vidit Gujrathi, Gayatri Gopichand's women's doubles partner Treesa Jolly, boxer Narender Berwal, and deaf rifle shooter Dhanush Srikanth. Notably, 19-year-old Deshmukh is the first Indian woman to win the World Cup, while Vidit Gujrathi was part of the gold-winning Indian team at the 2024 Chess Olympiad. Tejaswin Shankar, who won a silver medal in the Asian Games in 2023 and a bronze in the Commonwealth Games despite a knee problem, had previously criticised the delay in the announcement.

In the para-sports category, para club thrower Ekta Bhyan and shooter Rudransh Khandelwal made the final cut. The list does not feature any cricketers, a pattern observed since pacer Mohammed Shami received the honour in 2023. I Arumainayagam, a member of the 1962 Asian Games gold-winning football team, was named the sole winner of the Arjuna Award for 'Lifetime Achievement'.

Furthermore, the ministry named three Dronacharya awardees, with boxing coach Chhote Lal Yadav being a prominent name. Dharmendra Yadav and wrestling coach Virender Kumar were named for the 'Lifetime Achievement' honour in coaching.

The Khel Ratna carries a medallion, a citation, and a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh, while the Arjuna award provides a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh. Traditionally presented on August 29 to commemorate National Sports Day, the award announcements have faced scheduling shifts in recent years. The announcement of the 2025 awardees after more than half of 2026 has passed marks the largest delay since the inception of the awards in 1991.

The selection committee this year featured Indian Olympic Association Vice President Gagan Narang, former badminton player Aparna Popat, and former hockey player M M Somaya.

"Delays and rigorous revaluations in institutional recognitions highlight the growing emphasis on governance, transparency, and accountability in evaluation processes. For organizations and public bodies alike, maintaining procedural integrity is critical when managing prestigious awards or large-scale evaluations. While the delay faced criticism from athletes, the restructuring of selection lists demonstrates a strict adherence to merit-based outcomes." — Dr. Shishir Gupta, Founder & CEO, StartupLanes