The ministry of youth affairs & sports announced the National Sports Awards 2021. As many as 12 sportspersons will be honoured with the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. Also, 35 sportspersons will receive the Arjuna Award this year. The winners will receive their awards from President Ram Nath Kovind in a function at the Darbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan on November 13.

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award

• Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of previous four years.

• It was launched in 1991-92 as Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. Earlier in August this year, the Khel Ratna Award was renamed in the honour of hockey wizard Dhyan Chand. 

• The prize money for the Ratna Award has been increased to Rs 25 lakh from the previous amount of Rs 7.5 lakh.

Winners of Khel Ratna in 2021:

1) Neeraj Chopra - Athletics

2) Ravi Kumar - Wrestling

3) Lovlina Borgohain - Boxing

4) Sreejesh P.R - Hockey

5) Avani Lekhara - Para Shooting

6) Sumit Antil - Para Athletics

7) Pramod Bhagat - Para Badminton

8) Krishna Nagar - Para Badminton

9) Manish Narwal - Para Shooting

10) Mithali Raj - Cricket

11) Sunil Chhetri - Football

12) Manpreet Singh - Hockey

Arjuna Award

It was instituted in 1961 and is given to players who have exhibited good performance consistently for the previous four years at the international level and have shown qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and a sense of discipline. The awardees are given a statuette, a scroll of honour, ceremonial dress and award money of Rs 15 lakh.

Winners of Arjuna Award in 2021:

1) Arpinder Singh - Athletics

2) Simranjit Kaur - Boxing

3) Shikhar Dhawan - Cricket

4) Bhavani Devi C.A - Fencing

5) Monika - Hockey

6) Vandana Katariya - Hockey

7) Sandeep Narwal - Kabaddi

8) Himani Uttam Parab - Mallakhamb

9) Abhishek Verma - Shooting

10) Ankita Raina - Tennis

11) Deepak Punia - Wrestling

12) Dilpreet Singh - Hockey

13) Harman Preet Singh - Hockey

14) Rupinder Pal Singh - Hockey

15) Surender Kumar - Hockey

16) Amit Rohidas - Hockey

17) Birendra Lakra - Hockey

18) Sumit - Hockey

19) Nilakanta Sharma - Hockey

20) Hardik Singh - Hockey

21) Vivek Sagar Prasad - Hockey

22) Gurjant Singh - Hockey

23) Mandeep Singh - Hockey

24) Shamsher Singh - Hockey

25) Lalit Kumar Upadhyay - Hockey

26) Varun Kumar - Hockey

27) Simranjeet Singh - Hockey

28) Yogesh Kathuniya - Para Athletics

29) Nishad Kumar - Para Athletics

30) Praveen Kumar - Para Athletics

31) Suhash Yathiraj - Para Badminton

32) Singhraj Adhana - Para Shooting

33) Bhavina Patel - Para Table Tennis

34) Harvinder Singh - Para Archery

35) Sharad Kumar - Para Athletics.

Dronacharya Award

• It was instituted in 1985. This award honours eminent coaches who have assisted national athletes and teams in achieving outstanding results in international competitions. The awardees are given a statuette, certificate, ceremonial dress and a cash prize. 

• Awardees of Dronacharya Award (Regular Category) will receive Rs 10 lakh.  

• Awardees of Dronacharya Award (Lifetime Category) will get Rs 15 lakh.

This year’s winners:

Life-Time Category

1) T.P. Ouseph - Athletics

2) Sarkar Talwar - Cricket

3) Sarpal Singh - Hockey

4) Ashan Kumar - Kabaddi

5) Tapan Kumar Panigrahi - Swimming

Regular Category:

1) Radhakrishnan Nair P - Athletics

2) Sandhya Gurung - Boxing

3) Pritam Siwach - Hockey

4) Jai Prakash Nautiyal - Para Shooting

5) Subramanian Raman - Table Tennis.

Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games

It was instituted in 2002. This award is given to honour those who have contributed to sports by their performance and continue to contribute to promotion of sports even after their retirement from an active sporting career. The awardees are given a statuette, a certificate, ceremonial dress and award money of Rs 10 lakh. 

This year’s winners: 

1) Lekha K.C - Boxing

2) Abhijeet Kunte - Chess

3) Davinder Singh Garcha - Hockey

4) Vikas Kumar - Kabaddi

5) Sajjan Singh - Wrestling.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy

With a view to promote competitive sports in colleges and universities, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy with a cash award of Rs 15 lakh is given to the University standing first in inter-university sports tournaments. 

This year’s winner:

Panjab University - Chandigarh

Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar

• With a view to recognise the contribution made to sports development by entities other than sportspersons and coaches, the government has instituted an award since 2009 entitled Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar.

• It is given to corporate entities (both in private and public sector), sports control boards, NGOs — including sports bodies at the state and national level who have played a visible role in the area of sports promotion and development.

This year’s winners are:

• Manav Rachna Educational Institution - Identification and Nurturing of Budding and Young Talent

• Indian Oil Corporation Limited - Encouragement to sports through Corporate Social Responsibility.

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