Chirag, Rankireddy to get Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna on Jan 9; Shami Arjuna award

New Delhi, Dec 20: The Sports ministry on Wednesday announced the National Sports Awards 2023. Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2023 will be given to Indian shuttlers Chirag Chandrashekhar Shetty and Rankireddy Satwik Sai Raj for their contribution to Badminton.

Another 26 Sports persons will receive the Arjuna Awards for outstanding performance in Sports and Games 2023. Veteran seamer Mohammed Shami has also been picked for the Arjuna Awards for his brilliant performance for team India.

The awardees will receive their awards from the President of India at Rashtrapati Bhavan on January 9, 2024.

National Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports.

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

‘Arjuna Award for outstanding performance in Sports and Games’ is given for good performance over a period of the previous four years and for showing qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and a sense of discipline.

‘Dronacharya Award for outstanding coaches in Sports and Games’ is given to coaches for doing outstanding and meritorious work on a consistent basis and for enabling sportspersons to excel in International events.

‘Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime achievement in Sports and Games’ is given to honour sportspersons who have contributed to sports by their performance and who continue to contribute to promotion of sports event after their retirement.

The overall top performing university in inter-university tournaments is given the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy.

List of Recipients Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2023

Chirag Chandrashekhar Shetty (Badminton)

Rankireddy Satwik Sai Raj (Badminton)

Arjuna Awards for outstanding performance in Sports and Games 2023

Ojas Pravin Deotale (Archery)

Aditi Gopichand Swami (Archery)

Sreeshankar M (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)

Pukhrambam Sushila Chanu (Hockey)

Pawan Kumar (Kabbadi)

Ritu Negi (Kabbadi)

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 for outstanding coaches in Sports and Games 2023

Lalit Kumar (Wrestling)

R. B. Ramesh (Chess)

Mahaveer Prasad Saini (Para Athletics)

Shivendra Singh (Hockey)

Ganesh Prabhakar Devrukhkar (Mallakhamb)