The National Sports Awards are the pinnacle of sporting honours in the Republic of India. It promotes qualities like leadership, discipline, commitment, teamwork and a passion for health and fitness in the psyche of a nation with the world’s largest youth population.
In a glittering ceremony, India’s best-performing athletes were conferred with the National Sports Awards 2023 by President Droupadi Murmu. Shuttlers Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy were chosen for the coveted Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award for a breakout 2023, during which they won their maiden Asian Games gold — a first for India in badminton –, while also clinching the Asian Championships title and the Indonesia Open Super 1000 title.
The National Sports Awards are given annually to recognize and reward excellence in sports, highlight extraordinary performance at national and international competitive events, encourage sportsmanship and promote nation-building by creating a sense of national pride and unity in a country as diverse as India.
The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India, administers the awards. The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, presented the Sports and Adventure Awards 2023 at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 9, 2024. The Awards include Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Awards-2023, Dronacharya Awards-2023, Arjuna Awards-2023, Dhyan Chand Awards-2023, Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards-2022; Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar-2023; and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy-2023.
Rashtrapati Bhawan witnessed the Arjuna Awards 2023 conferred on 26 athletes and para-athletes. Chirag Shetty and Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy for Badminton, Mohamd Shami for Cricket, Chess Grandmaster (GM) R .Vaishali and R Praggnanandhaa, wrestler Antim Panghal, a former junior world champion and bronze-winner at the senior event last year, boxer Mohammad Hussamuddin (bronzewinner at last year’s world championships), and para-archer Sheetal Devi, were also conferred Arjuna awards.
Other awardees included Ojas Pravin Deotale (archery), Aditi Gopichand Swami (archery), Murali Sreeshankar (athletics), Parul Chaudhary (athletics), Mohammad Hussamuddin (boxing), R Vaishali (chess), Anush Agarwalla (equestrian), Divyakriti Singh (equestrian dressage), Diksha Dagar (golf), Krishan Bahadur Pathak (hockey), Sushila Chanu (hockey), Pawan Kumar (kabaddi), Ritu Negi (kabaddi), Nasreen (khokho), Pinki (lawn bowls), Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar (shooting), Esha Singh (shooting), Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (squash), Ayhika Mukherjee (table tennis), Sunil Kumar (wrestling), Naorem Roshibina Devi (wushu), Sheetal Devi (para archery), Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy (blind cricket), Prachi Yadav (para canoeing). Dronacharya awardees (regular category) for outstanding coaches this year included chess coach RB Ramesh, who has groomed Praggnanandhaa. Lalit Kumar (wrestling), RB Ramesh (chess), Mahaveer Prasad Saini (para athletics), Shivendra Singh (hockey), Ganesh Prabhakar Devrukhkar (mallakhamb).
Dronacharya Award (life-time category) for outstanding coaches– Jaskirat Singh Grewal (golf), Bhaskaran E (kabaddi), Jayanta Kumar Pushilal (table tennis). Dhyan Chand Award for lifetime achievement–Manjusha Kanwar (badminton), Vineet Kumar Sharma (hockey), Kavitha Selvaraj (kabaddi). Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy-Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (overall winner university); Lovely Professional University, Punjab (first runner-up); Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra (second runner-up).