National Sports Awards 2023: The Sports Ministry announced the final list of nominations for the annual sports awards, giving the prestigious Khel Ratna honour to badminton players Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, along with the Arjuna award for 26 sports personalities, including the prolific pacer Mohammed Shami. The awards ceremony is scheduled to take place at Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 9, where President Droupadi Murmu will confer the honours.
Chirag and Satwik, both Asian Games gold medallists, World Championships bronze winners, and Commonwealth Games silver medalists, have been acknowledged for their remarkable contributions to badminton.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Shami’s stellar performance in the ODI World Cup, where India secured a runner-up position, earned him the Arjuna award. Shami emerged as the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, claiming 24 wickets in seven matches.
The list of Arjuna awardees includes prominent names across various sports such as hockey, archery, boxing, chess, golf, shooting, wrestling, and more. Notable names like Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Sushila Chanu, Diksha Dagar, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, and Sunil Kumar have been recognized for their outstanding achievements.
The ministry has also approved five coaches for the Dronacharya award in the regular category and three in the lifetime category. Additionally, the Dyan Chand award in the lifetime category will be presented to three individuals.
In the university category, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, secured the prestigious Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy 2023, with Lovely Professional Univrsity, Punjab, and Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, as the first and second runners-up.
The National Sports Awards, an annual recognition of excellence in sports, will witness the ceremony to honor these outstanding athletes and coaches who have significantly contributed to the sporting landscape in India.
List of National Sports Award winners:
Khel Ratna Award for 2023: Chirag Shetty and Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy (badminton).
Arjuna Awards for 2023: Ojas Pravin Deotale (archery)
Aditi Gopichand Swami (archery)
Murali Sreeshankar (athletics)
Parul Chaudhary (athletics)
Mohameed 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 (wrestling)
Naorem Roshibina Devi (wushu)
Sheetal Devi (para archery)
Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy (blind cricket)
Prachi Yadav (para canoeing)
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)
Dronacharya Award (Lifetime 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 2023:
Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (overall winner university)
Lovely Professional University, Punjab (1st runner-up)
Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra (2nd runner-up)