National Sports Awards 2023: Shami, Sheetal Devi receive Arjuna Award; Chirag, Satwiksairaj get Khel Ratna — Check Full List, Prize money

National Sports Awards 2023: On Tuesday, January 9, India's best-performing athletes were honoured with the national sports awards by President Droupadi Murmu in a grand ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Cricketer Mohammed Shami and para-archer Sheetal Devi were the prominent names among the 26 athletes who received the Arjuna Award.

The Durbar Hall reverberated with applause when Sheetal Devi walked up to collect her award. She was the winner of three gold medals at the Para Asian Games in Hangzhou last year. The 16-year-old is the only international para-archery champion without upper limbs due to a rare medical condition called phocomelia.

Indian pace bowler Mohammed Shami, who is currently recovering from an ankle injury, was also acknowledged with a huge round of applause when he walked up to collect his award. The pacer took 24 wickets in seven World Cup matches last year and was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament.

Additionally, shuttlers Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy were chosen for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award for their breakout performances in 2023. The duo won their maiden Asian Games gold, which is also the first for India in badminton at the Asian Games.

Moreover, they also managed to secure the Asian Championships title and the Indonesia Open Super 1000 title. The duo wasn't present in the ceremony as they are currently playing in the Malaysia Open Super 1000. The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award is usually held on August 29, on the birth anniversary of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand, but was deferred due to the ongoing Asian Games in Hangzhou last year.

Furthermore, another huge round of applause was elicited when President Murmu walked down the podium to present the Arjuna Award to wheelchair-bound para-canoeist Prachi Yadav, who won the gold medal in Hangzhou.

The recently crowned chess grandmaster, R. Vaishali, also drew a lot of applause while receiving her award. She became the third Indian woman after Koneru Humpy and Dronavalli Harika to be honoured with the Grandmaster title. Vaishali is also the elder sister of chess Grandmaster R. Praggnanandhaa.

Among the 26 Arjuna Award recipients, only 19-year-old pistol ace Esha Singh missed the ceremony. Esha is currently competing in the Asian Olympic Qualifiers in Jakarta and qualified for the Paris Olympics on Monday after winning individual and team gold in the 10-metre air pistol.

Chess coach RB Ramesh was among the notable Dronacharya awardees this year who had groomed R. Praggnanandhaa.

The recipients of the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna will receive a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh, while those who were presented with Arjuna and Dronacharya awards will receive a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh.

Here is the list of athletes and coaches who were presented with the National Sports Awards 2023—

National Sports Awards 2023: Recipients of the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna

• Chirag Shetty (Badminton)
• Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy (Badminton)

National Sports Awards 2023: Recipients of the Arjuna Awards

• Ojas Pravin Deotale (Archery)
• Aditi Gopichand Swami (Archery)
• Murali Sreeshankar (Athletics)
• Parul Chaudhary (Athletics)
• Mohammad 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 Panghal (Wrestling)
• Naorem Roshibina Devi (Wushu)
• Sheetal Devi (Para-archery)
• Illuri Ajay Kumar Reddy (Blind Cricket)
• Prachi Yadav (Para-canoeing)

National Sports Awards 2023: Recipients of the 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)

National Sports Awards 2023: Recipients of the Dronacharya Award (Lifetime Category) for Outstanding Coaches

• Jaskirat Singh Grewal (Golf)
• Bhaskaran E. (Kabaddi)
• Jayanta Kumar Pushilal (Table Tennis)

National Sports Awards 2023: Recipients of the Major Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement

• Manjusha Kanwar (Badminton)
• Vineet Kumar Sharma (Hockey)
• Kavitha Selvaraj (Kabaddi)

National Sports Awards 2023: Recipients of the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy 2023

• Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (Winner)
• Lovely Professional University, Punjab (1st runner-up)
• Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra (2nd runner-up)

(with inputs from PTI)

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