Hardik Singh in line for prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, no cricketer chosen for Arjuna Awards, check out full list of nominations

Hardik Singh is the only person nominated for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna. Divya Deshmukh, Tejaswin Shankar and Aarti Pal are among the 24 athletes selected for the Arjuna awards. This year, no cricketer has been included.

India men’s hockey team vice-captain Hardik Singh is the only sportsperson nominated for this year’s Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award. Young chess player Divya Deshmukh and leading decathlete Tejaswin Shankar are among the 24 athletes chosen for the Arjuna awards by the selection panel on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old Hardik has played an important role in India’s midfield and was part of the medal-winning Indian teams at the 2021 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympic Games. This year, he also helped India win the gold medal at the Asia Cup.

For the first time, a Yogasan player, Aarti Pal, has been suggested for the Arjuna award, five years after the sport was officially recognised by the Sports Ministry. Aarti is the current national and Asian champion in Yogasan, a sport that will be shown as a demonstration event at the 2026 Asian Games.

The selection panel also chose 21 more athletes for the Arjuna award. The panel includes IOA vice president Gagan Narang, former badminton player Aparna Popat, and ex-hockey player M M Somaya.

Nineteen-year-old Divya Deshmukh is the first Indian woman to win a World Cup. Chess player Vidit Gujrathi and decathlete Tejaswin Shankar, who won a historic silver at the 2023 Asian Games and another silver at the Asian Championships, are also recommended for the Arjuna award.

Rifle shooter Mehuli Ghosh, a two-time World Championship bronze winner and multiple Asian Championship medallist, gymnast Pranati Nayak, and India’s top women’s badminton pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand are also on the list. Gayatri is the daughter of national coach and former All England champion Pullela Gopichand.

No cricketer has been selected this time. The last cricketer to get the award was pacer Mohammed Shami in 2023. The Khel Ratna, India’s highest sports award, comes with a medal, a certificate, and Rs 25 lakh. The Arjuna award includes Rs 15 lakh along with a medal and citation.

Last year, four athletes received the Khel Ratna: world chess champion D Gukesh, men’s hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh, para-athlete Praveen Kumar, and shooter Manu Bhaker.

Check out the full list of nominations –

Award	Athlete	Sport
Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna	Hardik Singh	Hockey
Arjuna Award	Tejaswin Shankar	Athletics
Arjuna Award	Priyanka	Athletics
Arjuna Award	Narender	Boxing
Arjuna Award	Vidit Gujrathi	Chess
Arjuna Award	Divya Deshmukh	Chess
Arjuna Award	Dhanush Srikanth	Deaf Shooting
Arjuna Award	Pranati Nayak	Gymnastics
Arjuna Award	Rajkumar Pal	Hockey
Arjuna Award	Surjeet	Kabaddi
Arjuna Award	Nirmala Bhati	Kho Kho
Arjuna Award	Rudransh Khandelwal	Para-Shooting
Arjuna Award	Ekta Bhyan	Para-Athletics
Arjuna Award	Padmanabh Singh	Polo
Arjuna Award	Arvind Singh	Rowing
Arjuna Award	Akhil Sheoran	Shooting
Arjuna Award	Mehuli Ghosh	Shooting
Arjuna Award	Sutirtha Mukherjee	Table Tennis
Arjuna Award	Sonam Malik	Wrestling
Arjuna Award	Aarti	Yoga
Arjuna Award	Treesa Jolly	Badminton
Arjuna Award	Gayatri Gopichand	Badminton
Arjuna Award	Lalremsiami	Hockey
Arjuna Award	Mohammed Afsal	Athletics
Arjuna Award	Pooja	Kabaddi