Any Indian sports follower will know about the Arjuna Award. After all, it’s one of the greatest honors for an Indian sportsperson to be nominated for and win one. So here we are with a short article on this prestigious award, its history, eligibility, and some better-known recipients.

Let’s start –

HISTORY

Arjuna award was started in 1961 to recognize outstanding achievements in sports by an Indian. It is given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. It carries a cash prize of Rs. 5 lakh and a bronze statue of Arjuna, one of the greatest archers of all time according to Indian tradition, along with a scroll. It is given every year on National Sports Day on August 29th, the birthday of Major Dhyan Chand.

ELIGIBILITY

Though just like with any other regulation, the criteria for the Arjuna Award are revised periodically to keep up with the times, the main sentiment remains the same. To be eligible for the Arjuna Award, a sportsperson should have shown consistently good performance for the previous four years at the international level. Additionally, they should have also shown qualities like sportsmanship, leadership and a sense of discipline. Another thing about the Arjuna award is how inclusive it is. Apart from athletes who performed well in the Olympic Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and World championships, sportspeople with an outstanding contribution to indigenous games and sports for Physically challenged are included in the award eligibility list too. Of course, all the athletes nominated have to go through a serious screening procedure.

RECIPIENTS OF THE ARJUNA AWARD

Since its inception in 1961, some 700 Indian sportspeople have been conferred with the Arjuna award. Let’s take a look at some of them –

PRAKASH PADUKONE (1972, BADMINTON)

P.T. USHA (1983, ATHLETICS)

VISWANATHAN ANAND (1985, CHESS)

LEANDER PAES (1990, TENNIS)

SACHIN TENDULKAR (1994, CRICKET)

A MARIA IRUDAYUM (1996, CARROM)

BAICHUNG BHUTIA (1998, FOOTBALL)

JEEV MILKHA SINGH (1999, GOLF)

PUELLA GOPICHAND (2000, BADMINTON)

MITHALI RAJ (2003, CRICKET)

MARY KOM (2003, BOXING)

SUNIL CHHETRI (2011, FOOTBALL)

DEEPIKA KUMARI (2012, ARCHERY)

DEEPA MALIK (2012. ATHLETICS, PARA ATHLETE)

GEETA PHOGAT (2012, WRESTLING)

P.V. SINDHU (2013, BADMINTON)

JOSHNA CHINAPPA (2013, SQUASH)

HEENA SIGHU (2014, SHOOTING)

DIPA KARMARKAR (2015, GYMNASTICS)

MANJEET CHILLAR (2015, KABADDI)

HIMA DAS (2018, ATHLETICS)

ROHAN BOPANNA (2018, TENNIS)

S BHASKARAN (2019, BODY BUILDING)