India’s prestigious National Sports and Adventure Awards 2023 recently took place at Rashtrapati Bhavan, graced by the President of India. Blessed with a plethora of talent, the nation celebrated its sports individuals for their commendable achievements in various sporting fields. These awards, administered by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India, witness the nation honoring its athletes and sports personalities.
Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award: Recognizing Outstanding Performances
Created in 1991-92, the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is India’s highest sporting honor. It commemorates hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand and acknowledges outstanding performances over four years. Among its recipients are sports giants such as MC Mary Kom, PV Sindhu, Sachin Tendulkar, and Virat Kohli. The awardees for this year were Chirag Shetty and Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy, both from the world of badminton.
Arjuna Award: Celebrating Consistent Greatness
Before the Khel Ratna, the Arjuna Award, introduced in 1961, was India’s premier sporting honor. It’s named after the famous character Arjuna from Mahabharata and recognizes consistent good performance over four years. The recipients receive an Arjuna statuette, a certificate, and a cash prize. This year’s awardees included stellar performers like Aditi Gopichand Swami (archery), Mohammed Shami (cricket), Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar (shooting), among others.
Dronacharya Award: Honoring Coaches
Instituted in 1985, the Dronacharya Award is India’s most significant sports honor for coaches. The 2023 Dronacharya Awards saw Lalit Kumar (wrestling), RB Ramesh (chess) among others receiving this honor in the Regular Category, while the Lifetime Category was awarded to Jaskirat Singh Grewal (golf), Bhaskaran E (kabaddi) among others.
Major Dhyan Chand Award: Acknowledging Lifetime Achievements
Established in 2002, the Major Dhyan Chand Award honors lifetime achievements in sports and contributions to promoting sports individually. The 2023 awardees included Manjusha Kanwar (badminton), Vineet Kumar Sharma (hockey), Kavitha Selvaraj (kabaddi).
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy: Rewarding Excellence in University Sports
The oldest National Sports Award in India, the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy (MAKA), rewards universities for top performance in inter-university tournaments. This year it went to Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Lovely Professional University, Punjab (first runner-up), and Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra (second runner-up).
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar: Promoting Sport Development
The Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar, established in 2009, is given to organizations and individuals for their work in sports promotion and development. In 2023, this award was received by JAIN (Deemed-to-be-University) and the Odisha Mining Corporation Limited.
Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award: Saluting Adventure Achievements
Since 1993-94, the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award has been awarded to those who have made outstanding achievements in adventure activities on land, sea, and air. The status of this award is considered equivalent to the Arjuna Award. The 2022 awardees included the Late Ms. Savita Kanswal (land), Shri Tulsi Chaitanya Mothukuri (water), and Shri Anshu Kumar Tiwari (air).