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No Khel Ratna Award 2025; 17 Athletes Get Arjuna Nominations

No Khel Ratna Award 2025; 17 Athletes Get Arjuna Nominations
National Sports Awards: No Khel Ratna, Arjuna honour for 17 athletes, India 'already late for 2036' · telegraphindia.com

Every year, India gives special prizes to its best sportspersons.

The biggest prize is called the Khel Ratna Award, named after a famous hockey player named Major Dhyan Chand.

This year, nobody won that big prize — it was left empty.

Instead, 17 sportspersons were chosen for another nice award called the Arjuna Award.

Three coaches also got the Dronacharya Award for helping athletes become champions.

Important people, led by a former Supreme Court judge, decided who should get these prizes.

One former winner named Ronjan Sodhi said India must start finding young sports talent now.

He said the 2036 Olympics are only 10 years away.

Finding champions early helps India shine at the Olympics.

That is why he thinks India should act before it is too late.

Key facts

Khel Ratna 2025
Left vacant
Arjuna Award nominees
17 sportspersons
Dronacharya Award recipients
Parveer Singh, Chhote Lal Yadav, Neha Nandkumar Chavan
Selection committee chair
Justice (Retd.) Arun Kumar Mishra
Announcing body
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
2024 Khel Ratna recipients
Gukesh Dommaraju, Harmanpreet Singh, Praveen Kumar, Manu Bhaker
Arjuna Award criterion
Outstanding performance over previous four years plus leadership, sportsmanship, and discipline
Ronjan Sodhi's warning
"In fact, we are late... 2036 is 10 years from now."

Quotes

Ronjan Sodhi

Former Khel Ratna awardee and senior shooter

“In fact, we are late... 2036 is 10 years from now. So, we need to identify talent now. We need programmes wherein the government or the federation engage senior shooters or people who can go and do some scouting and identify talent in schools.”
telegraphindia.com

Sources

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