Announcement of the 2022 National Sports Awards; Odisha Ace Hockey Player Deep Grace Ekka to Receive Arjuna Award

New Delhi: The Ministry of Youth and Sports announced the National Sports Awards 2022 today. Winners will receive their awards from the President of India at a specially organized ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 30th November 2022 (Wednesday) at 4:00 PM.

As 25 sportsmen will receive Arjuna awards for their outstanding performance in sports and games 2022. Sta hockey player from Odisha, Deep Grace Ekka is also among the 25 Arjuna winners.

Based on the recommendations of the Committee and after careful consideration, the Government has decided to award prizes to the following athletes, coaches and entities:

(I)Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2022

S. No.	Athlete’s name	Discipline
1.	Shri Sharath Kamal Ashanta	Table tennis

(ii)Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games 2022

S. No.	Athlete’s name	Discipline
1.	Ms Seema Punia	Athletics
2.	Shri Eldhose Paul	Athletics
3.	Shri Avinash Mukund Sand	Athletics
4.	Shri Lakshya Sen	Badminton
5.	Shri Prannoy HS	Badminton
6.	Shri Amit	Boxing
seven.	Ms Nikhat Zareen	Boxing
8.	Ms. Bhakti Pradip Kulkarni	Chess
9.	Shri R Praggnanandhaa	Chess
ten.	Ms Deep Grace Ekka	Hockey
11.	Ms Shushila Devi	Judo
12.	Ms Sakshi Kumari	Kabaddi
13.	Ms Nayan Moni Saikia	lawn bowl
14.	Shri Sagar Kailas Ovhalkar	Mallakhamb
15.	Mrs. Elavenil Valarivan	Shooting
16.	Shri Omprakash Mitharval	Shooting
17.	Ms Sreeja Akula	Table tennis
18.	Shri Vikas Thakur	Bodybuilding
19.	Ms Anshu	Struggle
20.	Ms Sarita	Struggle
21.	Shri Parveen	wushu
22.	Mrs. Manasi Girishchandra Joshi	Para badminton
23.	Shri Tarun Dhillon	Para badminton
24.	Shri Swapnil Sanjay Patil	Para-swimming
25.	Ms Jerlin Anika J	deaf badminton

(iii)Dronacharya Award for Outstanding Coaches in Sports and Games 2022

A. Regular Category:

S. No.	Coach Name (S/Shri/Ms)	Discipline
1.	Shri Jiwanjot Singh Teja	Archery
2.	Shri Mohammad Ali Qamar	Boxing
3.	Mrs. Suma Siddharth Shirur	Para Shooting
4.	Shri Sujeet Maan	Struggle

B Lifetime Category:

S.No.	Coach Name (S/Shri/Ms)	Discipline
1.	Shri Dinesh Jawahar Lad	locust
2.	Shri Bimal Prafulla Ghosh	Soccer
3.	Sri Raj Singh	Struggle

(iv)Dhyan Chand Lifetime Achievement Award in Sports and Games 2022

S. No.	Athlete’s name	Discipline
1.	Mrs Ashwini Akkunji C.	Athletics
2.	Shri Dharamvir Singh	Hockey
3.	Shri BC Suresh	Kabaddi
4.	Shri Nir Bahadur Gurung	Para-athletics

(v) Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 2022

S. No.	Category	Feature recommended for RashtriyaKhel Protsahan Puruskar, 2022
1.	Identification and development of budding young talents	TransStadia Enterprises Private Limited
2.	Promotion of sport through corporate social responsibility	Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology
3.	sport for development	Ladakh Ski and Snowboard Association

(v)Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy (MAKA) 2022:

Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar

The National Sports Awards are presented annually to recognize and reward excellence in sport. The “Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award” is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsman in the previous four years.

The “Arjuna Award for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games” is given for good performance in the previous four years and for displaying qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and sense of discipline.

The “Dronacharya Award for Outstanding Coaches in Sports and Games” is given to coaches for doing outstanding and meritorious work consistently and for enabling sportspeople to excel in international events.

The “Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games” is given to sportsmen who have contributed to sports through their performances and who continue to contribute to the promotion of the sporting event after their retirement.

‘Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar’ is awarded to corporate bodies (both in the private and public sector), sports control boards, NGOs, including sports bodies at state and national level, who have played a visible role in the promotion and development of sport.

The most successful university in the inter-university tournaments receives the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) trophy.

This year, for the first time, applications were invited online only and athletes/coaches/entities were allowed to apply themselves via a dedicated portal. A large number of nominations were received for these awards this year, which were reviewed by the Selection Committee headed by Judge AM Khanwilkar, Retd. Judge, Supreme Court of India and made up of members of eminent sports people, people with experience in sports journalism and sports administrators.