January 17, 2025: The National Sports Awards 2025 ceremony, held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Friday, was a momentous occasion as several outstanding athletes were honored for their exceptional contributions to Indian sports. President Draupadi Murmu conferred the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award on four remarkable athletes:
Manu Bhaker: A double Olympic medalist and a trailblazer in Indian shooting, Manu Bhaker made history by becoming the first-ever woman shooter from India to win an Olympic medal. She secured a bronze in the women’s individual 10m air pistol event at the Tokyo Olympics and later teamed up with Sarabjot Singh to win another bronze in the mixed team 10m air pistol event.
Gukesh Dommaraju: The 18-year-old chess prodigy became the youngest-ever world chess champion after a spectacular victory in the FIDE World Championship 2024. His victory over China’s Ding Liren in the decisive 14th game earned him the title and made him India’s second World Chess Champion after Viswanathan Anand.
Harmanpreet Singh: The captain of the Indian men’s hockey team, Harmanpreet Singh led his team to a bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics. He had previously played a pivotal role in securing a bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and has been nominated for the FIH Player of the Year.
Praveen Kumar: A Para Athlete, Praveen Kumar clinched a Gold in the Men’s High Jump T64 at the 2024 Paralympic Games, making a remarkable contribution to India’s success in Paralympic sports.
In addition to the Khel Ratna awardees, several athletes were also honored with Arjuna Awards for their exceptional performances, including:
Jarmanpreet Singh, Sanjay, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, and Salima Tete (Women’s Hockey team captain), for their stellar contributions to Indian hockey.
Vantika Agrawal (Chess Grandmaster) and Jyothi Yarraji (Athletics) also received the Arjuna Award.
Para athletes such as Preeti Pal, Jeevanji Deepthi, Ajeet Singh, Sachin Sarjerao Khilari, Dharambir, Pranav Soorma, Hokato Sema, Simran, and Navdeep were recognized for their impressive achievements in Para sports.
Olympic medalists Swapnil Suresh Kusale and Sarabjot Singh, along with Para-Olympic shooters Mona Agarwal and Rubina Francis, were also honored with the Arjuna Awards.
The Dronacharya Award in the lifetime category was awarded to Armando Agnelo Colaco, former head coach of Dempo FC and East Bengal, for his outstanding contribution to Indian football coaching.
Subhash’s award was in recognition of his outstanding achievements in Para-Shooting. He has trained many outstanding Para Athletes including Manish Narwal, Rubina Francis, Singhraj, Avani Lekhara. These players have won medals at the Paralympic Games 2021 and 2024, the World Championship 2022, the Asian Para Games 2023 and other international tournaments.
Deepali was honoured for her contributions to the sport of shooting. She has trained many outstanding Athletes including Swapnil Kusale, Akhil Sheoran, Arjun Babuta, Sift Kaur Samra, Anjum Moudgil and Shriyanka Sadangi. These players have won medals in Olympics 2024, World Championship 2023 and 2024, World Cups 2024, Asian Games 2023 and Asian Shooting Championships 2023.
Sandeep’s contributions to the sport of hockey also got their well-deserved recognition, having trained players like Sumit, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Jarmanpreet, Sanjay, and Abhishek. These players have won medals at the Olympic Games 2021 and 2024, Asian Games 2023, Commonwealth Games 2022 and other International tournaments.
Muralidharan’s contributions to badminton were given recognition. He has trained many outstanding Athletes including U Vimal Kumar, Madhumita Bisht & George Thomas. These players won medals at the Asian Games 1982, the Commonwealth Games 1998, the French Open – Badminton 1983 & 1984 and the Welsh Open – Badminton 1988.
Armando’s contributions to sport of football, most notably in training the all-time great player and captain Sunil Chhetri, were also honoured. Other than Chhetri, he has trained several players like Mahesh Gawli, Climax Lawrence, Anwar Ali, Anthony Pereira and Samir Naik. These players won the Silver medal in the 2002 SAFF Cup, Gold medal in 2005 SAFF Cup, Silver medal in 2008 SAFF Cup, Gold medal in 2012 SAFF Cup and Gold medal in 2002 LG Cup.
These awards highlight the exceptional achievements of Indian athletes across a wide range of sports and recognize their dedication, hard work, and perseverance in representing the country at the highest level.