ARJUNA AWARD - AWARDS

News: National Sports Awards 2023: Mohammed Shami, Para-Archer Sheetal Devi Receive Arjuna Awards

 

What's in the news?

       President Droupadi Murmu conferred the prestigious National Sports Awards on India's top-performing athletes in a regal ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

 

Key takeaways:

Awardees:

1. Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award for 2023:

       Chirag Shetty and Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy (badminton).

 

2. Arjuna Awards:

       Ojas Pravin Deotale (archery), Aditi Gopichand Swami (archery), Murali Sreeshankar (athletics), Parul Chaudhary (athletics), Mohammad Hussamuddin (boxing), R Vaishali (chess), Mohammed Shami (cricket), Anush Agarwalla (equestrian), Divyakriti Singh (equestrian dressage), Diksha Dagar (golf), Krishan Bahadur Pathak (hockey), Sushila Chanu (hockey), Pawan Kumar (kabaddi), Ritu Negi (kabaddi), Nasreen (kho-kho), Pinki (lawn bowls), Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar (shooting), Esha Singh (shooting), Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (squash), Ayhika Mukherjee (table tennis), Sunil Kumar (wrestling), Antim Panghal (wrestling), Naorem Roshibina Devi (wushu), Sheetal Devi (para archery), Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy (blind cricket), Prachi Yadav (para canoeing).

 

3. Dronacharya Award (regular category) for outstanding coaches:

       Lalit Kumar (wrestling), RB Ramesh (chess), Mahaveer Prasad Saini (para-athletics), Shivendra Singh (hockey), Ganesh Prabhakar Devrukhkar (mallakhamb).

 

4. Dronacharya Award (life-time category) for outstanding coaches:

       Jaskirat Singh Grewal (golf), Bhaskaran E (kabaddi), Jayanta Kumar Pushilal (table tennis).

 

5. Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime achievement:

       Manjusha Kanwar (badminton), Vineet Kumar Sharma (hockey), Kavitha Selvaraj (kabaddi).

 

6. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy 2023:

       Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (overall winner university); Lovely Professional University, Punjab (1st runner -up), Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra (2nd runner-up).

 

Arjuna awards:

       The objective of the Awards is to recognize outstanding achievements of sportspersons in the field of sports at international level.

 

History:

       It was established in 1961.

       A total of 53 cricketers have been awarded the Arjuna Award with Saleem Durani, in 1961, the first recipient.

 

Given by: The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India.

 

Cash prize: The Award consists of a statuette and a cash Award of Rs. 5lakh.

 

Sports disciplines covered:

       Olympic games, Asian games, Commonwealth games, World cup, World Championship disciplines and cricket or any equivalent recognized International Tournament.

       Indigenous Games.

       Sports for physically challenged.

 

Eligibility for the Award:

       A sportsperson should have had not only good performance over the previous four years at the International level, but should also have shown qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and a sense of discipline.

       No Award will be made for a second time to the same person.

       The Award may be given posthumously if such an occasion arises.

 

Number of Arjuna Awards to be given in a year:

       Ordinarily not more than one award will be given in each discipline in a particular year. But this principle of one award per discipline may be relaxed in case of team sports and across gender.

       At least one award is to be given exclusively for sports for physically challenged.

       Normally not more than 15 awards could be given in any calendar year.

       However, keeping in view the performance of Indian sportspersons in the Commonwealth, Asian and Olympic Games during a particular year, more than 15 Awards may be allowed.