National Sports Awards in India 2022 – Dronacharya Award, Winners List PDF

What are National Sports Awards?

The President of India presents six sports awards in India to the sports fraternity on National Sports Day. These awards give extra fame and recognition to the sportspersons of India who toil hard and make their country proud on an international level and national well. Have a look at the list of the National sports awards 2022-

• Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award
• Dronacharya Award 2022
• Arjuna Award
• Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy
• Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar
• Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports

Apart from these six sports awards in India, the Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award is also presented.

List of Sports Awards in India 2022

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports announced the National Sports Awards 2022 on 14th November 2022. The awardees received the sports awards 2022 from the honorable President of India on 30th November.

The list of Sports Awards in India 2022 is an important topic for UPSC aspirants and should be taken into consideration while preparing for the IAS exam. Candidates can take a look at each of the awards and who received the respective awards in the year.

National Sports Awards

The various sports awards in India are awarded to Indian sportspersons for their extraordinary performance in various sports nationally and globally. Each of these awards holds its importance and has maintained its attraction and respect for many years in India. Let us look into each of these National Sports Awards 2022 in detail.

Dronacharya Award

The Dronacharya Award gets its name from the epic of Mahabharata. Dronacharya was the guru of the Kauravas and the Pandavas. The Dronacharya Award came into existence in 1985 and was included by the Government of India.

• These sports awards in India 2022 are presented to the ‘gurus’ or coaches in the sports fraternity who have coached in various big sporting events like the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, etc.
• So far, a total number of 120 coaches have been presented with the Dronacharya Award.
• The first ones on the list of coaches to receive this award in 1985 were Om Prakash Bhardwaj (Boxing), O. M. Nambiar (Athletics), and Bhalchandra Bhaskar Bhagwat (Wrestling).
• Weightlifting coach Hansa Sharma is the first woman ever to have received this award in the year 2000.

Dronacharya Award 2022 in Regular Category

Name of the Coach	Discipline
Shri Mohammad Ali Qamar	Boxing
Shri Jiwanjot Singh Teja	Archery
Shri Sujeet Maan	Wrestling
Ms. Suma Siddharth Shirur	Para Shooting

Dronacharya Award Winners List – Lifetime Category

Name of the Coach	Discipline
Sh. Dinesh Jawahar	Cricket
Sh. Bimal Prafulla	Football
Sh. Raj Singh	Wrestling

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award

The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award was earlier known as the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. The Government of India, later on, changed it. Named after the great hockey legend of India, this award is considered the highest honor a sportsperson can receive. This is one of the most remarkable sports awards in India 2022.

• The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is presented to a sportsperson to honor his/her exemplary performance in the last four years.
• The respective sportsperson receives a medal, a certificate for their achievements, and a cash amount of 25 lakh rupees.
• Grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand was the first to receive this award in 1991-92.
• Another player who has received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award not once but twice is Cuiest Pankaj Advani for his performance in Billiards and Snooker.

Sportsperson Name	Discipline
Sh. Sharath Kamal Achanta	Table Tennis

Arjuna Award

The name of the Arjuna Award is inspired by the great character of Arjuna from the epic Mahabharata. The award came into existence in 1961, intending to recognize extraordinary performances in sports.

• The Arjuna Award is awarded to those sportspersons who have given great performances in the field of sports for the past four years.
• The usual practice is presenting the Arjuna Award annually to 15 sports persons including all genders in team sports and multi-sports events. In certain special cases, the Government may decide to increase the number of awardees in the wake of more than usual exemplary performances.
• The Arjuna Award comprises a bronze statue of Arjuna, a scroll, a cash prize of 15 Lakh rupees along with a ceremonial dress.
• More than 850 players and a team have been presented with the Arjuna Award.
• It was first awarded to six people in 1961.
• Meena Shah (Badminton) was the first female to receive the award in 1962.

Sportsperson Name	Discipline
Ms. Seema Punia	Athletics
Shri Avinash Mukund Sable	Athletics
Shri Eldhose Paul	Athletics
Shri Lakshya Sen	Badminton
Shri Amit	Boxing
Shri Prannoy HS	Badminton
Ms. Nikhat Zareen	Boxing
Ms. Bhakti Pradip Kulkarni	Chess
Ms. Deep Grace Ekka	Hockey
Shri R Praggnanandhaa	Chess
Ms. Sakshi Kumari	Kabaddi
Ms. Shushila Devi	Judo
Ms. Nayan Moni Saikia	Lawn Bowl
Shri Sagar Kailas Ovhalkar	Mallakhamb
Ms. ElavenilValarivan	Shooting
Shri Omprakash Mitharval	Shooting
Shri Vikas Thakur	Weightlifting
Ms. Sreeja Akula	Table Tennis
Ms. Sarita	Wrestling
Ms. Anshu	Wrestling
Ms. Manasi Girishchandra Joshi	Para-Badminton
Shri Parveen	Wushu
Shri Tarun Dhillon	Para-Badminton
Ms. Manasi Girishchandra Joshi	Para-Badminton
Ms. Jerlin Anika J	Deaf Badminton
Shri Swapnil Sanjay Patil	Para Swimming

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy

Among all the prestigious awards, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy is another on the list. It is also referred to as the MAKA Trophy and is known as the oldest award in the National Sports Award list. It was established in 1956-57.

• The Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar, Punjab has again received the MAKA Trophy in 2022.
• The Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy gets its name from the country’s first education minister and one of the greatest Indian freedom fighters, Abul Kalam Azad.
• This trophy is awarded to those who have displayed extraordinary performances in the last year in inter-university competitions.
• The first university that received this award was Bombay University which is now known as the University of Mumbai.
• The Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy, which is a rolling trophy, is accompanied by a cash prize.
• The Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar, Punjab has been receiving the MAKA Trophy for the maximum number of times. It has till date received the trophy 22 times out of the total 64 awards presented to date.

Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar

As the title suggests, the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar recognizes such individuals including the public and private organisations who have been promoting sports and development in a dedicated way, in the past three years.

• This award came into existence on the Sports Awards list, in 2009.
• The Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar is presented in four categories: (i) encouraging sports via corporate & social responsibility,(ii) identifying & developing emerging & young talent, (iii) sports for development, and (iv) athletes’ employment & sports welfare measures.

Category	Entity recommended for Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar, 2022
Identification and Nurturing of Budding and Young Talent	Trans Stadia Enterprises Private Limited
Encouragement of sports through Corporate Social Responsibility	Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology
Sports for Development	Ladakh Ski & Snowboard Association

Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports

The Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports has been inspired by the hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand. As is evident from the name, these sports awards in India 2022 recognize a player’s contribution to the field of sports during his entire lifetime, including post-retirement.

• The Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports is presented with a statue of Major Dhyan Chand, a scroll, a ceremonial dress, a certificate & a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh.
• Aparna Ghosh, a Basketball coach, was one of the first people to receive this honor.

Name of the sportsperson	Discipline
Ms. Ashwini Akkunji C.	Athletics
Sh. Dharamvir Singh	Hockey
Sh. B.C Suresh	Kabaddi
Sh. Nir Bahadur Gurung	Para Athletics

Thus, receiving a National Award is undoubtedly one of the most distinguished honors for someone belonging to the sports fraternity. Those who are preparing for the UPSC exam, need to be thorough with the list of National Sports Awards 2022.

Important Notes for UPSC
Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak	World Bank UPSC
Indian Independence Movement	Difference Between Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha
Heads of Important Offices in India	Hunter Commission
How Much Time is Required to Prepare for UPSC	Part 21 of Indian Constitution
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