There is simmering disquiet in India’s sporting circles these days and at the heart of it is an unprecedented delay. The annual celebration of India’s sporting excellence, the National Sports Awards, are yet to be announced even though the selection committee gave its recommendations six months ago.
The Sports Ministry, whose seal of approval turns recommended names into award winners, has attributed the situation to a “reevaluation of names picked for the Arjuna awards”. According to well-placed Ministry sources, the lingering wait is a matter of procedure and necessary to “preserve the integrity of the awards”. However, that explanation is hardly a consolation for the athletes.
“It is unfortunate that no announcement has come so far. It is demotivating for the athletes, especially because unofficially most people come to know whether they have been shortlisted or not,” lamented an Olympic-medal winning former Khel Ratna awardee.
The date of the ceremony, held at the majestic Rashtrapati Bhavan, has not been a fixed one for quite a while now. It was traditionally slated for August 29 to commemorate the National Sports Day, which is also the birth anniversary of one of India’s greatest sportspersons, hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand.
However, after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when the ceremony was conducted virtually due to health protocols in place, the date is no longer locked. More than once, it has been pushed a couple of months after August 29 to accommodate Olympics and other multi-sport event performances. The latest that it was held was last year on January 17.
It is now well past one year since the last ceremony and the recommendations for the 2025-26 honours were made in December 2025. As per existing norms, they were to be formally announced by the Sports Ministry within a week of the finalisation with minor tweaks, if needed.
The weeks have turned into months, but there is no word on when the announcement would come and adding to the “frustration” is the fact that the nomination process for the next edition is also not too far away on the calendar. “These awards should always follow a set schedule. Whatever evaluation that needs to be done, it can be done but not by withholding names like this. I am sure most of those who have been selected are worthy of the honours,” said the former Khel Ratna winner.
The view was echoed by a former Arjuna awardee and Commonwealth Games gold-medallist. He said the date should never have been altered and if the idea was to make August 29 solely about Major Dhyan Chand’s legacy, a new fixed date should be allotted for the awards.
“At first the date kept moving for different reasons and now the entire process stands halted, which is not the athletes’ fault at all. The ministry needs to at least give some explanation because these honours are like an annual festival for sportspersons. Getting those blazer fittings, the dress rehearsal of the entire protocol and finally that moment with the President, it’s a major highlight for athletes,” he said.
After the Ministry’s announcement of re-evaluation, Asian championship gold-winning decathlete Tejaswin Shankar, who is recommended for the Arjuna award, had voiced his displeasure without mincing words. “This delay is not just demotivating to athletes and coaches, but also a sign of disrespect,” he had posted on X.
World Cup-winning chess player Divya Deshmukh and gymnast Pranati Nayak are among the Arjuna awards recommendations this year. Men’s hockey team star Hardik Singh is the only recommendation for the Khel Ratna, the country’s highest sporting honour, for 2025-26.
Also read: Hardik, Navneet named Hockey India Players of the Year
