National Sports Awards 2020

The National Sports Awards are awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The ceremony takes place at the Presidential Palace, and the President of India presents these awards to honour the remarkable achievements of sportspersons and players. The National Sports Awards were first awarded in 1956-57. 

The National Sports Awards is a collective name given to six sports awards of the Republic of India. In 2020, around 1,260 people and organisations were honoured with these prestigious awards. 

The Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award is the highest adventure sports honour of the Republic of India. It is named after Tenzing Norgay, one of the first two persons to reach the summit of Mount Everest, along with Edmund Hillary in 1953. The award has been presented since 2004. 

The List of Six National Sports Awards 2020 in India: 

Arjuna Award 

The Arjuna Award is bestowed to honour a sportsperson for “outstanding performance in sports and games”. The second-highest sporting honour in India, the Arjuna Award, was introduced in the year of 1961. The award comes with “a cash prize of Rs. 15 lakh (US $20,000), ceremonial dress, a bronze statue tree of Arjuna and certificate”. 

Recipients of the Arjuna Award in 2020

• Dutee Chand – Athletics
• Chirag Chandrashekhar Shetty – Badminton
• Ishant Sharma-  Cricket

• Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy – Badminton
• Deepti Sharma – Cricket
• Manik Kaushik – Boxing

• Lovelina Borgohain – Boxing
• Akashdeep Singh – Hockey
• Vishesh Bhriguvanshi – Basketball
• Sawant Ajay Anand – Equestrian
• Aditi Ashok – Golf

• Sandesh Jhingan – Football
• Deepika – Hockey
• Divya Kakran – Wrestling
• Suyash Narayan Jadhav – Para-Swimming
• Kale Sarika Sudhakar – Kho Kho
• Manu Bhaskar – Shooting
• Saurabh Chaudhary- Shooting

• Dattu Baban Bhokanal – Rowing
• Shiva Keshavan – Winter Sports
• Divij Sharan – Tennis

• Deepak – Kabaddi
• Atanu Das – Archery
• Madhurika Patkar – Table Tennis
• Manish Narwal – Para Shooting
• Sandeep – Para Athletics

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award

The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award was introduced in 1991-1992 and is the highest sporting honour in India. This award comes with a certificate, a cash prize of Rs. 25 lakh (US $33,000), and a medallion. A person who gives excellent performance over a period of the previous four years receives this award.

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2020 Recipients

• Rohit Sharma- Cricket
• Rani Rampal – Hockey

• Vinesh Phogat – Wrestling
• Mariyappan Thangavelu – Para Athletics
• Manika Batra – Table Tennis

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy  

This award is given to the “overall top performing University in sports and promoting competitive sports in University”. This award was introduced in 1956-1957. It was awarded to Panjab University, Chandigarh, in 2020.

Dronacharya Award   

This award is presented to coaches for preparing and training sportspersons who will represent the country at the international level. This award consists of a certificate, Dronacharya’s bronze figure, and Rs 10 lakh as a cash reward.

List of current National awardees Dronacharya Award 2020  (Lifetime Category) 

• Purushottam Rai – Athletics
• Dharmendra Tiwari- Archery
• Om Prakash Dahiya – Wrestling
• Krishna Kumar Hooda- Kabaddi
• Vijay Bhalchandra Munishwar – Para Powerlifting
• Naresh Kumar- Tennis
• Romesh Pathania- Hockey

List of current National awardees Dronacharya Award 2020 (Regular Category)

• Yogesh Malviya – Mallakhamb 
• Kuldeep Kumar Hooda – Wushu
• Jaspal Rana – Shooting 
• Gaurav Khanna – Para-Badminton
• Jude Felix – Hockey

Dhyan Chand Award  

Introduced in 2002, the Dhyan Chand Award is given to sportspersons for a “lifetime contribution to sports and development”. This award consists of a certificate, Dhyan Chand statuette, along with Rs.10 lakh as a cash reward.

Dhyan Chand Award 2020 Recipients

• Pradeep Shrikrishna Gandhe – Badminton
• Jincy Philips – Athletics
• Trupti Murgunde – Badminton
• Sukhvinder Singh Sandhu – Football
• Satyaprakash Tiwari- Para-Badminton
• Ajit Singh – Hockey
• Kuldip Singh Bhullar – Athletics

• Manjeet Singh – Rowing
• J Ranjeet Kumar- Para Athletics
• Lakha Singh – Boxing

• Manpreet Singh – Kabaddi

• Netarpal Hooda – Wrestling

Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 

Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar is given to public and private organisations to “recognise their apparent part in the area of sports growth and development”. This award was inaugurated in the year of 2009. 

Recipients of Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 2020

Category:

• Employment of sportsperson and sports welfare measures –  Air Force Sports Control Board
• Encouragement of Sports through Corporate Social Responsibility – Oil and Natural Gas Corporation ( ONGC) Ltd.

Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award

The Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award was introduced in 2004. It is given to appreciate the spirit of adventure among the country’s people. 

Norgay National Adventure Award Recipients

• Col Sarfraz Singh – Land Adventure
• Gajendra Yadav- Air Adventure
• Keval  Hiren Kakka – Land Adventure

• Taka Tamit – Land Adventure
• Late Magan Bissa – Lifetime Achievement
• Satendra Singh – Water Adventure
• Anita Devi – Land Adventure