Table tennis star Achanta Sharath Kamal will receive the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, the country’s highest sporting honour, from President Droupadi Murmu on November 30 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

In the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Sharath Kamal had won four medals, including three gold and one silver.

A total of 25 sportspersons — including shuttlers Lakshya Sen, H.S. Prannoy, woman boxer Nikhat Zareen, athletes Eldhose Paul, Avinash Sable — will receive the Arjuna Award this year.

A large number of nominations were received for these awards this year, which were considered by a selection committee headed by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar (retd) and consisting of eminent sportspersons, persons having experience in sports journalism and sports administrators.

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. In August 2021, 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.

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 2022:

1) Seema Punia - Athletics

2) Eldhose Paul - Athletics

3) Avinash Mukund Sable - Athletics

4) Lakshya Sen - Badminton

5) Prannoy H.S - Badminton

6) Amit - Boxing

7) Nikhat Zareen - Boxing

8) Bhakti Pradip Kulkarni - Chess

9) R. Praggnanandhaa - Chess

10) Deep Grace Ekka - Hockey

11) Shushila Devi - Judo

12) Sakshi Kumari - Kabaddi

13) Nayan Moni Saikia - Lawn Bowl

14) Sagar Kailas Ovhalkar - Mallakhamb

15) Elavenil Valarivan - Shooting

16) Omprakash Mitharval - Shooting

17) Sreeja Akula - Table Tennis

18) Vikas Thakur - Weightlifting

19) Anshu - Wrestling

20) Sarita - Wrestling

21) Parveen - Wushu

22) Manasi Girishchandra Joshi - Para Badminton

23) Tarun Dhillon - Para Badminton

24) Swapnil Sanjay Patil - Para Swimming

25) Jerlin Anika J - Deaf Badminton

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) Dinesh Jawahar Lad - Cricket

2) Bimal Prafulla Ghosh - Football

3) Raj Singh - Wrestling

Regular Category

1) Jiwanjot Singh Teja - Archery

2) Mohammad Ali Qamar - Boxing

3) Suma Siddharth Shirur - Para Shooting

4) Sujeet Maan - Wrestling

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) Ashwini Akkunji C - Athletics

2) Dharamvir Singh - Hockey

3) B.C Suresh - Kabaddi

4) Nir Bahadur Gurung - Para Athletics

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:

Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar

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:

1) TransStadia Enterprises Private Limited - Identification and Nurturing of Budding and Young Talent

2) Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology - Encouragement to sports through Corporate Social Responsibility

3) Ladakh Ski & Snowboard Association - Sports for Development.

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