Hardik Singh recommended for Khel Ratna

India men’s hockey team vice-captain Hardik Singh was the sole recommendation for this year’s Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna honour, while teenage chess star Divya Deshmukh and trailblazing decathlete Tejaswin Shankar were among the 24 picked for the Arjuna awards by the selection committee on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old Hardik has been India’s mid-field mainstay and was a part of both the 2021 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympic Games medal-clinching teams. This year, he was a part of India’s Asia Cup gold-winning side. In a first, a Yogasan athlete, Aarti Pal, has been recommended for the Arjuna Award, five years after it was formally recognised by the Sports Ministry, a well-placed source said.

Aarti is the reigning national and Asian champion in the discipline that would be a demonstration sport at the 2026 Asian Games. Twenty one other names have been finalised for the Arjuna by the awards selection panel after a meeting here on Wednesday. The panel features, among others, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Vice President Gagan Narang, former badminton player Aparna Popat and former hockey player M M Somaya.

The 19-year-old Deshmukh is the first Indian woman to win the World Cup. Fellow chess player Vidit Gujrathi has also been recommended for the Arjuna alongside Tejaswin Shankar, who won a historic silver medal in the Asian Games in 2023 and followed it up with a second-place finish in the Asian Championships earlier this year.

Rifle shooter Mehuli Ghosh, a two-time World Championship bronze-winner besides being a multiple-time medallist at the Asian Championships, gymnast Pranati Nayak and India’s numero uno women’s badminton combo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand are also among the recommendations for the Arjuna. Gayatri is the daughter of national badminton coach and former All England champion Pullela Gopichand.

The list, however, does not feature any cricketer. Pacer Mohammed Shami was the last cricketer to receive the honour, in 2023. The Khel Ratna, which is the country’s highest sporting honour, comes with a medallion, a citation and a cash prize of `25 lakh, while the Arjuna award makes the winner richer by `15 lakh. Last year, the Khel Ratna was bestowed on four athletes — world champion chess player D Gukesh, men’s hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh, para-athlete Praveen Kumar and shooter Manu Bhaker.

NATIONAL SPORTS AWARDS RECOMMENDATIONS

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna: Hardik Singh (Hockey)

Arjuna Awards: Tejaswin Shankar (Athletics), Priyanka (Athletics), Narender (Boxing), Vidit Gujrathi (Chess), Divya Deshmukh (Chess), Dhanush Srikanth (Deaf Shooting), Pranati Nayak (Gymnastics), Rajkumar Pal (Hockey), Surjeet (Kabaddi), Nirmala Bhati (Kho Kho), Rudransh Khandelwal (Para-Shooting), Ekta Bhyan (Para-athletics), Padmanabh Singh (Polo), Arvind Singh (Rowing), Akhil Sheoran (Shooting), Mehuli Ghosh (Shooting), Sutirtha Mukherjee (Table Tennis), Sonam Malik (Wrestling), Aarti (Yoga), Treesa Jolly (Badminton), Gayatri Gopichand (Badminton), Lalremsiami (Hockey), Mohammed Afsal (Athletics), Pooja (Kabaddi).