No cricketer among Arjuna awardees this year; Yogasana makes debut, Hockey’s Hardik Singh in Khel Ratna list

Hardik Singh, vice-captain of the Indian hockey team, is all set to receive the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2025. He is the only player recommended by the selection committee. Hardik, 27, was a key member of the medal-winning Indian team at both the Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024 Olympics. His significant contribution was instrumental in clinching the gold medal at this year’s Asian Cup.

Many names were put forward for the Arjuna Award at the selection committee meeting held on Wednesday. Among those recommended were IOA Vice President Gagan Narang, former badminton player Aparna Popat and former hockey player MM Somaya.

The committee selected 24 athletes, including chess player Divya Deshmukh and decathlon competitor Tejaswin Shankar, for the Arjuna Award. It is noteworthy that no cricketers are included in this year’s list.

Yogasana athlete Aarti Pal has been nominated for the Arjuna Award for the first time. This marks a significant milestone as it has been five years since the sport was recognized by the Ministry of Sports. Aarti is currently national and Asian champion and Yogasana will be showcased as a demonstration sport at the 2026 Asian Games.

Arjuna Award Recommendations

Athletics: Tejaswin Shankar, Priyanka Goswami, Mohammed Afsal

Badminton: Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand (Women’s Doubles)

Boxing: Narender Berwal

Chess: Vidit Gujrathi and Divya Deshmukh

Deaf Shooting: Dhanush Srikanth

Gymnastics: Pranati Nayak

Hockey: Rajkumar Pal and Lalremsiami Hmar Zote

Kabaddi: Surjeet Singh and Pooja

Kho Kho: Nirmala Bhati

Para-Athletics: Ekta Bhyan

Parachute Shooting: Rudransh Khandelwal

Polo: Padmanabh Singh

Rowing: Arvind Singh

Shooting: Akhil Sheoran and Mehuli Ghosh

Table Tennis: Sutirtha Mukherjee

Wrestling: Sonam Malik

Yogasana: Aarti Pal (India’s first gold in this event)

Surprisingly, no cricketer was nominated for this prestigious award. Previously, Mohammed Shami was honored in 2023. Khel Ratna is the highest sports award in the country, which includes a medal, a citation and a cash prize of ₹25 lakh; The Arjuna Award offers ₹15 lakh.

Divya Deshmukh, just 20 years old, made history by becoming the first Indian female chess player to win the World Cup. Chess player Vidit Gujrathi was also nominated for the Arjuna Award. Meanwhile, Tejaswin Shankar won a silver medal in the 2023 Asian Games and secured second place in the Asian Championship this year.

Rifle shooter Mehuli Ghosh, gymnast Pranati Nayak and top women’s badminton duo Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand are among those recommended for the Arjuna Award. Mehuli won bronze medal twice at the World Championships. Gayatri is the daughter of national badminton coach and former All England champion Pullela Gopichand.

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