The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports announced the National Sports Awards 2025 on 18 August 2026 to recognise excellence and outstanding contributions by sportspersons, coaches and organisations in various sporting disciplines.
The awards were decided on the recommendations of a Selection Committee chaired by former Supreme Court Judge Justice (Retd.) Arun Kumar Mishra. The committee included eminent sportspersons, sports administrators and persons with experience in sports journalism. Applications were invited through a dedicated online portal, allowing sportspersons, coaches and entities to self-apply.
🏅 Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance – 2025
The Arjuna Award recognises good performance over the previous four years, along with qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and discipline.
A total of 17 sportspersons were selected:
| No. | Sportsperson | 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 |
🏆 Arjuna Award (Lifetime) – 2025
The Arjuna Award (Lifetime) honours sportspersons who have made significant contributions through their performances and continued to promote sports after retiring from active competition.
- I Arumainayagam – Football
🥇 Dronacharya Awards – 2025
The Dronacharya Award recognises coaches for outstanding and meritorious work on a consistent basis and for enabling sportspersons to excel at international events.
Regular Category:
- Parveer Singh – Athletics
- Chhote Lal Yadav – Boxing
- Neha Nandkumar Chavan – Shooting
Lifetime Category:
- Dharmendra Singh Yadav – Boxing
- Virender Kumar – Wrestling
🇮🇳 Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar 2025
The Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar is given to entities that play a visible role in the promotion and development of sports.
- Army Paralympic Node, Pune
