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Introduction to the Arjuna Award

The Arjuna Award is the second-highest sporting honor in India, given for outstanding performance in sports and games. It is presented annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Named after the character Arjuna from the Mahabharata, it symbolizes dedication, hard work, and concentration. Instituted in 1961, it was the highest sports award in India until the introduction of the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award in 1991-1992. Over the years, the award has recognized hundreds of athletes across various disciplines, inspiring generations of sportspersons.

History of the Arjuna Award

The Arjuna Award began in 1961 to honor exceptional athletes in multiple sports. Initially focused on specific disciplines, it expanded in 1977 to cover all recognized sports. In 1995, categories for indigenous games and physically challenged athletes were added, along with a lifetime contribution category, which later became the Dhyan Chand Award in 2002. Since 2001, the award has included disciplines from Olympic Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Cup, World Championship disciplines, cricket, indigenous games, and parasports.

A significant revision occurred in 2018, limiting awards to disciplines in major multi-sport events like the Olympics and Paralympics, plus cricket, indigenous games, and parasports. The number of awards is capped at fifteen per year, with relaxations for exceptional performances. The cash prize has evolved from a monthly scholarship of 200 rupees in 1977-1978 to 15 lakh rupees as of 2020. As of the latest records, 967 individuals and one team have received the award.

Criteria and Significance of the Arjuna Award

Selection for the Arjuna Award is based on outstanding performance over four years at the international level, along with qualities like leadership, sportsmanship, and discipline. Nominations come from national sports federations, the Indian Olympic Association, the Sports Authority of India, and previous awardees. A committee from the Ministry selects the recipients.

The award includes a bronze statuette of Arjuna, a certificate, ceremonial dress, and the cash prize. Its significance lies in motivating athletes and highlighting India’s sporting talent across diverse fields, from mainstream sports like cricket and hockey to niche areas like yachting and wushu.

List of Arjuna Award Winners (1961-1969)

The early years of the Arjuna Award saw recognition for pioneers in various sports. Below is a table detailing the list of Arjuna Award winners from this period.

Serial Number	Year	Recipient Name	Gender	Sport
1	1961	Manuel Aaron	Male	Chess
2	1961	P. K. Banerjee	Male	Football
3	1961	Udey Chand	Male	Wrestling
4	1961	Buddy D’Souza	Male	Boxing
5	1961	Salim Durani	Male	Cricket
6	1961	A. N. Ghosh	Male	Weightlifting
7	1961	K. S. Jain	Male	Squash
8	1961	Ramanathan Krishnan	Male	Lawn Tennis
9	1961	Sham Lal	Male	Gymnastics
10	1961	Anne Lumsden	Female	Hockey
11	1961	Nandu M. Natekar	Male	Badminton
12	1961	A. Palanisamy	Male	Volleyball
13	1961	Bajarangi Prasad	Male	Swimming
14	1961	Gurbachan Singh Randhawa	Male	Athletics
15	1961	P. G. Sethi	Male	Golf
16	1961	Karni Singh	Male	Shooting
17	1961	Prem Singh	Male	Polo
18	1961	Prithipal Singh	Male	Hockey
19	1961	Sarbjit Singh	Male	Basketball
20	1961	J. C. Vohra	Male	Table Tennis
21	1962	Tulsidas Balaram	Male	Football
22	1962	Nripjit Singh Bedi	Male	Volleyball
23	1962	Laxmi Kanta Das	Male	Weightlifting
24	1962	Wilson Jones	Male	Billiards
25	1962	Naresh Kumar	Male	Lawn Tennis
26	1962	Padam Badadur Mal	Male	Boxing
27	1962	Meena Shah	Female	Badminton
28	1962	Malwa Singh	Male	Wrestling
29	1962	Tarlok Singh	Male	Athletics
30	1963	Ganpat Andalkar	Male	Wrestling
31	1963	Stephie D’Souza	Female	Athletics
32	1963	Chuni Goswami	Male	Football
33	1963	Ashok Malik	Male	Golf
34	1963	Kamineni Eswara Rao	Male	Weightlifting
35	1963	Charanjit Singh	Male	Hockey
36	1963	Kishen Singh	Male	Polo
37	1964	Gautam R. Diwan	Male	Table Tennis
38	1964	Shankar Lakshman	Male	Hockey
39	1964	Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi	Male	Cricket
40	1964	Bishambar Singh	Male	Wrestling
41	1964	Hanut Singh	Male	Polo
42	1964	Jarnail Singh	Male	Football
43	1964	Makhan Singh	Male	Athletics

List of Arjuna Award Winners (1970-1979)

The 1970s saw the award expand to more sports, reflecting India’s growing sports diversity. Here is the table for this decade.

Serial Number	Year	Recipient Name	Gender	Sport
1	1970	S. J. Contractor	Male	Yachting
2	1970	Arun Kumar Dass	Male	Weightlifting
3	1970	Michael Ferreira	Male	Billiards
4	1970	Mohinder Singh Gill	Male	Athletics
5	1970	Gudalore Jagannath	Male	Table Tennis
6	1970	Sudesh Kumar	Male	Wrestling
7	1970	Gulam Abbas Moontasir	Male	Basketball
8	1970	Syed Nayeemuddin	Male	Football
9	1970	Sudhir B. Parab	Male	Kho kho
10	1970	J. Pitchayya	Male	Ball Badminton
11	1970	Dilip Sardesai	Male	Cricket
12	1970	Ajit Pal Singh	Male	Hockey
13	1970	Damayanti Tambay	Female	Badminton
14	1971	Achala Suberao Devra	Male	Kho kho
15	1971	Kaity Farookh Khodaiji	Female	Table Tennis
16	1971	Sobha Morthy	Female	Badminton
17	1971	Krishnamurthy Perumal	Male	Hockey
18	1971	Shyamlal Salwan	Male	Weightlifting
19	1971	Edward Sequeira	Male	Athletics
20	1971	Bhanwar Singh	Male	Swimming
21	1971	Bhim Singh	Male	Shooting
22	1971	C. P. Singh	Male	Football
23	1971	M. M. Singh	Male	Basketball
24	1971	Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan	Male	Cricket
25	1971	Muniswamy Venu	Male	Boxing
26	1972	B. S. Chandrashekhar	Male	Cricket
27	1972	Vijay Singh Chauhan	Male	Athletics
28	1972	Udayan Chinubhai	Male	Shooting
29	1972	Anjani N. Desai	Female	Golf
30	1972	Michael Kindo	Male	Hockey
31	1972	Anil Kumar Mandal	Male	Weightlifting
32	1972	Satish Kumar Mohan	Male	Billiards
33	1972	Chandraya Narayanan	Male	Boxing
34	1972	Prem Nath	Male	Wrestling
35	1972	Prakash Padukone	Male	Badminton
36	1972	S. M. Shetty	Male	Kabaddi
37	1972	Balwant Singh	Male	Volleyball
38	1972	Eknath Solkar	Male	Cricket
39	1972	Jayamma Srinivasan	Female	Athletes like Prakash Padukone in badminton became global icons during this time.

List of Arjuna Award Winners (1980-1989)

During the 1980s, the award continued to honor excellence, with more focus on team sports. The table below lists the winners.

Serial Number	Year	Recipient Name	Gender	Sport
1	1980–1981	Issac Amaldas	Male	Boxing
2	1980–1981	Chetan Chauhan	Male	Cricket
3	1980–1981	Manjit Dua	Male	Table Tennis
4	1980–1981	Mohammed Habib	Male	Football
5	1980–1981	Shantaram Jadhav	Male	Kabaddi
6	1980–1981	Rohini Khadilkar	Female	Chess
7	1980–1981	Syed Kirmani	Male	Cricket
8	1980–1981	Ramesh Krishnan	Male	Lawn Tennis
9	1980–1981	Syed Modi	Male	Badminton
10	1980–1981	Eliza Nelson	Female	Hockey
11	1980–1981	Gopal Saini	Male	Athletics
12	1980–1981	Mohammed Shahid	Male	Hockey
13	1980–1981	Jagmander Singh	Male	Wrestling
14	1981	Chandraprabha Aitwal	Female	Mountaineering
15	1981	Sabir Ali	Male	Athletics
16	1981	Harshwanti Bisht	Female	Mountaineering
17	1981	S. P. Chauhan	Male	Shooting
18	1981	Krishna Das	Female	Archery
19	1981	Zarir Karanjia	Male	Yachting
20	1981	Sudhir Karmakar	Male	Football
21	1981	Ganapathy Manoharan	Male	Boxing
22	1981	Monika Nath	Female	Kabaddi
23	1981	Balwant Sandhu	Male	Mountaineering
24	1981	Sushma Sarolkar	Female	Kho Kho
25	1981	Bijaya Kumar Satpathy	Male	Weightlifting
26	1981	Rekha Sharma	Female	Mountaineering
27	1981	Varsha Soni	Female	Hockey
28	1981	H. M. Takalkar	Male	Kho Kho
29	1981	Dilip Vengsarkar	Male	Cricket
30	1982	Mohinder Amarnath	Male	Cricket
31	1982	Madhumita Bisht	Female	Badminton
32	1982	Charles Borromeo	Male	Athletics
33	1982	Rupinder Singh Brar	Male	Equestrian
34	1982	Venugopal Chandrasekhar	Male	Table Tennis
35	1982	Partho Ganguli	Male	Badminton
36	1982	Bhuvneshwari Kumari	Female	Squash
37	1982	Persis Madan	Female	Swimming
38	1982	Chand Ram	Male	Athletics
39	1982	Ajmer Singh	Male	Basketball
40	1982	Kartar Singh	Male	Wrestling

List of Arjuna Award Winners (1990-1999)

The 1990s marked a period of international breakthroughs for Indian sports. The table for this decade is as follows.

Serial Number	Year	Recipient Name	Gender	Sport
1	1990	R. Chandra	Male	Weightlifting
2	1990	Bula Choudhury	Female	Swimming
3	1990	Kunjarani Devi	Female	Weightlifting
4	1990	M. R. Dharuvala	Male	Squash
5	1990	Pushpendra Kumar Garg	Male	Yachting
6	1990	Anupama Gokhale	Female	Chess
7	1990	Leander Paes	Male	Lawn Tennis
8	1990	Deena Ram	Male	Athletics
9	1990	Dalel Singh Ror	Male	Volleyball
10	1990	Hardeep Singh	Male	Kabaddi
11	1990	Jagbir Singh	Male	Hockey
12	1990	Ombir Singh	Male	Wrestling
13	1990	M. S. Walia	Male	Table Tennis
14	1991	Chhaya Adak	Female	Weightlifting
15	1991	Rajeev Bagga	Male	Badminton
16	1991	Limba Ram	Male	Archery
17	1991	Ali Sher	Male	Golf
18	1991	Adhiraj Singh	Male	Equestrian
19	1991	Dalvir Singh	Male	Rowing
20	1991	K. Udayakumar	Male	Volleyball
21	1991	Dharmendra Singh Yadav	Male	Boxing
22	1992	E. S. Bhaskaran	Male	Powerlifting
23	1992	Sandeep Byala	Male	Judo
24	1992	Mervyn Fernandis	Male	Hockey
25	1992	Bahadur Prasad	Male	Athletics
26	1992	Rajendra Prasad	Male	Boxing
27	1992	Sanjeeva Kumar Singh	Male	Archery
28	1992	Pappu Yadav	Male	Wrestling
29	1993	Cawas Billimoria	Male	Judo
30	1993	Ashok Kumar Garg	Male	Wrestling
31	1993	Mukund Killekar	Male	Boxing
32	1993	Kiran More	Male	Cricket
33	1993	Homi Motivala	Male	Yachting
34	1993	Manoj Pingale	Male	Boxing
35	1993	Manoj Prabhakar	Male	Cricket
36	1993	K. Saramma	Female	Athletics
37	1993	Bharati Singh	Female	Weightlifting
38	1993	Mansher Singh	Male	Shooting
39	1994	R. S. Bhanwala	Male	Rowing
40	1994	Rosa Kutty	Female	Athletics
41	1994	Karnam Malleswari	Female	Weightlifting
42	1994	Subbiah Rajaratnam	Male	Kabaddi
43	1994	Jaspal Rana	Male	Shooting

List of Arjuna Award Winners (2000-2009)

The 2000s saw inclusion of more parasports and lifetime achievements. The table lists the winners.

Serial Number	Year	Recipient Name	Gender	Sport
1	2000	J. Abhijith	Male	Swimming
2	2000	Akhtar Ali	Male	Lawn Tennis
3	2000	Joginder Singh Bedi	Male	Athletics §
4	2000	K. M. Beenamol	Female	Athletics
5	2000	Anjali Bhagwat	Female	Shooting
6	2000	Vijayamala Bhanot	Female	Athletics
7	2000	Raghbir Singh Bhola	Male	Hockey
8	2000	Abhinav Bindra	Male	Shooting
9	2000	Sanamacha Chanu	Female	Weightlifting
10	2000	Tingonleima Chanu	Female	Hockey
11	2000	Kalpana Debnath	Female	Gymnastics
12	2000	Rachna Govil	Female	Athletics
13	2000	Sandhu Singh Gurbir	Male	Shooting
14	2000	C. Honappa	Male	Kabaddi
15	2000	K. D. Jadhav	Male	Wrestling +
16	2000	Surender Singh Kanwasi	Male	Rowing
17	2000	Naresh Kumar	Male	Wrestling
18	2000	Vijay Bhalanchandra Munishwar	Male	Athletics & Powerlifting §
19	2000	Kripa Shankar Patel	Male	Wrestling
20	2000	Venkatesh Prasad	Male	Cricket
21	2000	P. V. Ramana	Male	Volleyball
22	2000	Jalaluddin Rizvi	Male	Hockey
23	2000	Baljit Singh Saini	Male	Hockey
24	2000	Balkrishan Singh	Male	Hockey
25	2000	Milkha Singh	Male	Athletics
26	2000	Randhir Singh	Male	Wrestling
27	2000	George Thomas	Male	Badminton
28	2000	Yadvendra Vashishta	Male	Athletics §
29	2000	Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi	Female	Chess
30	2000	Sebastian Xavier	Male	Swimming
31	2000	Madhu Yadav	Female	Hockey
32	2001	Bruno Coutinho	Male	Football
33	2001	Sita Gussain	Female	Hockey
34	2001	K. R. Shankar Iyer	Male	Athletics §
35	2001	Devender Sreekant Joshi	Male	Billiards & Snooker
36	2001	Samaresh Jung	Male	Shooting
37	2001	Kasam Khan	Male	Rowing
38	2001	Sandeep Kirtane	Male	Lawn Tennis
39	2001	Ramesh Kumar	Male	Wrestling
40	2001	VVS Laxman	Male	Cricket
41	2001	Mahesh Ramchandran	Male	Yachting
42	2001	B. C. Ramesh	Male	Kabaddi
43	2001	B. C. Ramesh	Male	Kabaddi

List of Arjuna Award Winners (2010-2019)

The 2010s emphasized parasports and emerging disciplines. The table is below.

Serial Number	Year	Recipient Name	Gender	Sport
1	2010	Joseph Abraham	Male	Athletics
2	2010	Rajesh Chaudhary	Male	Yachting
3	2010	K. J. Kapil Dev	Male	Volleyball
4	2010	Jhulan Goswami	Female	Cricket
5	2010	Jasjeet Kaur Handa	Female	Hockey
6	2010	Dinesh Kumar	Male	Boxing
7	2010	Dinesh Kumar	Male	Kabaddi
8	2010	Deepak Mondal	Male	Football
9	2010	Parimarjan Negi	Male	Chess
10	2010	Rehan Poncha	Male	Swimming
11	2010	Krishna Poonia	Female	Athletics
12	2010	Sanjeev Rajput	Male	Shooting
13	2010	Jagseer Singh	Male	Athletics §
14	2010	Sandeep Singh	Male	Hockey
15	2010	Rajiv Tomar	Male	Wrestling
16	2011	Rahul Banerjee	Male	Archery
17	2011	Sunil Chhetri	Male	Football
18	2011	W. Sandhyarani Devi	Female	Wushu
19	2011	Somdev Devvarman	Male	Lawn Tennis
20	2011	Vikas Gowda	Male	Athletics
21	2011	Jwala Gutta	Female	Badminton
22	2011	Prasanta Karmakar	Male	Swimming §
23	2011	Virdhawal Khade	Male	Swimming
24	2011	Zaheer Khan	Male	Cricket
25	2011	Ashish Kumar	Male	Gymnastics
26	2011	Katulu Ravi Kumar	Male	Weightlifting
27	2011	Rakesh Kumar	Male	Kabaddi
28	2011	Sanjay Kumar	Male	Volleyball
29	2011	Tejaswini Sawant	Female	Shooting
30	2011	Rajpal Singh	Male	Hockey
31	2011	Ravinder Singh	Male	Wrestling
32	2011	Suranjoy Singh	Male	Boxing
33	2011	Preeja Sreedharan	Female	Athletics
34	2011	Tejaswini Bai V.	Female	Kabaddi
35	2012	Ngangbam Soniya Chanu	Female	Weightlifting
36	2012	Joydeep Karmakar	Male	Shooting
37	2012	Parupalli Kashyap	Male	Badminton
38	2012	Anup Kumar	Male	Kabaddi
39	2012	Rajender Kumar	Male	Wrestling
40	2012	Deepika Kumari	Female	Archery
41	2012	Bombayla Devi Laishram	Female	Archery
42	2012	Deepa Malik	Female	Athletics §
43	2012	Aditya Mehta	Male	Billiards & Snooker

List of Arjuna Award Winners (2020-2024)

Recent years have seen a rise in para-sports recipients. The table covers up to 2024.

Serial Number	Year	Recipient Name	Gender	Sport
1	2020	Atanu Das	Male	Archery
2	2020	Dutee Chand	Female	Athletics
3	2020	Satwiksairaj Rankireddy	Male	Badminton
4	2020	Chirag Shetty	Male	Badminton
5	2020	Vishesh Bhriguvanshi	Male	Basketball
6	2020	Manish Kaushik	Male	Boxing
7	2020	Lovlina Borgohain	Female	Boxing
8	2020	Ishant Sharma	Male	Cricket
9	2020	Deepti Sharma	Female	Cricket
10	2020	Sawant Ajay Anant	Male	Equestrian
11	2020	Sandesh Jhingan	Male	Football
12	2020	Aditi Ashok	Female	Golf
13	2020	Akashdeep Singh	Male	Hockey
14	2020	Deepika Thakur	Female	Hockey
15	2020	Deepak Niwas Hooda	Male	Kabaddi
16	2020	Sarika Kale	Female	Kho Kho
17	2020	Dattu Baban Bhokanal	Male	Rowing
18	2020	Manu Bhaker	Female	Shooting
19	2020	Saurabh Chaudhary	Male	Shooting
20	2020	Madhurika Patkar	Female	Table Tennis
21	2020	Divij Sharan	Male	Tennis
22	2020	Shiva Keshavan	Male	Winter Sports
23	2020	Divya Kakran	Female	Wrestling
24	2020	Rahul Aware	Male	Wrestling
25	2020	Suyash Jadhav	Male	Swimming §
26	2020	Sandeep Chaudhary	Male	Athletics §
27	2020	Manish Narwal	Male	Shooting §
28	2021	Arpinder Singh	Male	Athletics
29	2021	Simranjit Kaur	Female	Boxing
30	2021	Shikhar Dhawan	Male	Cricket
31	2021	C. A. Bhavani Devi	Female	Fencing
32	2021	Monika Malik	Female	Hockey
33	2021	Vandana Katariya	Female	Hockey
34	2021	Sandeep Narwal	Male	Kabaddi
35	2021	Himani Uttam Parab	Female	Mallakhamba
36	2021	Abhishek Verma	Male	Shooting
37	2021	Ankita Raina	Female	Tennis
38	2021	Deepak Punia	Male	Wrestling
39	2021	Dilpreet Singh	Male	Hockey
40	2021	Harmanpreet Singh	Male	Hockey
41	2021	Rupinder Pal Singh	Male	Hockey
42	2021	Surender Kumar	Male	Hockey
43	2021	Amit Rohidas	Male	Hockey

Notable Arjuna Award Winners and Their Contributions

Among the list of Arjuna Award winners, several have achieved global fame. For instance, Milkha Singh, known as the Flying Sikh, received the award in 2000 for athletics. Abhinav Bindra became India’s first individual Olympic gold medallist. In cricket, names like Sachin Tendulkar (1994, not in partial but known) and Virat Kohli (2013) highlight the award’s prestige. These athletes not only excelled in their fields but also inspired millions, contributing to India’s sports culture.

The list of Arjuna Award winners also includes pioneers in parasports, such as Deepa Malik, who broke barriers in athletics. This diversity underscores the award’s role in promoting inclusivity.

The list of Arjuna Award winners represents the best of Indian sports, from 1961 to the present. With over 967 recipients, it showcases the nation’s talent across disciplines. For the full comprehensive lists beyond these tables, refer to official sources. This award continues to honor dedication and excellence, ensuring India’s sporting legacy endures.

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