National Sports Awards 2021- Relevance for UPSC Exam
- GS Paper 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to- Health, Education and Human Resources.
National Sports Awards 2021- Context
- Recently, the President of India presented the National Sports award 2021 (also named as the Sports and Adventure Awards 2021) at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
- Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2021 were given to 12 Sportspersons
- 35 Sportspersons received Arjuna Awards for outstanding performance in Sports and Games 2021.
National Sports Awards- Key Points
- About: National Sports Awards are given by the ministry of sports every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports.
- Selection Process: The Selection Committee headed by a former Judge of Supreme Court considers nominations received each year for National Sports Awards.
- Other members include members from eminent sportspersons and persons having experience in sports journalism & sports administrator etc.
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National Sports Awards- Categories
National Sports Awards are given under the following six categories. They are-
- Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Awards: It is given for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of the previous four years.
- Dronacharya Awards: It is given to coaches for doing outstanding and meritorious work on a consistent basis and enabling sportspersons to excel in international events.
- Arjuna Awards: It is given for good performance over the previous four years and shows qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, and a sense of discipline.
- Dhyan Chand Awards: It is given to honour sportspersons who have contributed to sports by their performance and continue to promote sports events after their retirement.
- Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar: It is given to corporate entities (both in the private and public sector), sports control boards, NGOs including sports bodies at the State and National level who have played a visible role in the area of sports promotion and development.
- Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy: Overall top performing university in inter-university tournaments is given Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy.
National Sports Awards 2021- Winners in Various Categories
- Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award 2021
| S. No. | Name of the Sportsperson | Discipline |
| 1. | Neeraj Chopra | Athletics |
| 2. | Ravi Kumar | Wrestling |
| 3. | LovlinaBorgohain | Boxing |
| 4. | Sreejesh P.R | Hockey |
| 5. | AvaniLekhara | Para Shooting |
| 6. | SumitAntil | Para Athletics |
| 7. | Pramod Bhagat | Para Badminton |
| 8. | Krishna Nagar | Para Badminton |
| 9. | Manish Narwal | Para Shooting |
| 10. | Mithali Raj | Cricket |
| 11. | Sunil Chhetri | Football |
| 12. | Manpreet Singh | Hockey |
(ii) Arjuna Awards for outstanding performance in Sports and Games 2021
| S. No. | Name of the Sportsperson | Discipline |
| 1. | Arpinder Singh | Athletics |
| 2. | Simranjit Kaur | Boxing |
| 3. | Shikhar Dhawan | Cricket |
| 4. | Bhavani Devi ChadalavadaAnandhaSundhararaman | Fencing |
| 5. | Monika | Hockey |
| 6. | Vandana Katariya | Hockey |
| 7. | Sandeep Narwal | Kabaddi |
| 8. | HimaniUttamParab | Mallakhamb |
| 9. | Abhishek Verma | Shooting |
| 10. | Ankita Raina | Tennis |
| 11. | Deepak Punia | Wrestling |
| 12. | Dilpreet Singh | Hockey |
| 13. | Harman Preet Singh | Hockey |
| 14. | Rupinder Pal Singh | Hockey |
| 15. | Surender Kumar | Hockey |
| 16. | Amit Rohidas | Hockey |
| 17. | Birendra Lakra | Hockey |
| 18. | Sumit | Hockey |
| 19. | Nilakanta Sharma | Hockey |
| 20. | Hardik Singh | Hockey |
| 21. | Vivek Sagar Prasad | Hockey |
| 22. | Gurjant Singh | Hockey |
| 23. | Mandeep Singh | Hockey |
| 24. | Shamsher Singh | Hockey |
| 25. | Lalit Kumar Upadhyay | Hockey |
| 26. | Varun Kumar | Hockey |
| 27. | Simranjeet Singh | Hockey |
| 28. | Yogesh Kathuniya | Para Athletics |
| 29. | Nishad Kumar | Para Athletics |
| 30. | Praveen Kumar | Para Athletics |
| 31. | SuhashYathiraj | Para Badminton |
| 32. | SinghrajAdhana | Para Shooting |
| 33. | Bhavina Patel | Para Table Tennis |
| 34. | Harvinder Singh | Para Archery |
| 35. | Sharad Kumar | Para Athletics |
(iii) Dronacharya Award for outstanding coaches in Sports and Games 2021
- Life-Time Category:
| S. No. | Name of the Coach | Discipline |
| 1. | T. P. Ouseph | Athletics |
| 2. | Sarkar Talwar | Cricket |
| 3. | Sarpal Singh | Hockey |
| 4. | Ashan Kumar | Kabaddi |
| 5. | Tapan Kumar Panigrahi | Swimming |
- Regular Category:
| S. No. | Name of the Coach | Discipline |
| 1. | Radhakrishnan Nair P | Athletics |
| 2. | Sandhya Gurung | Boxing |
| 3. | Pritam Siwach | Hockey |
| 4. | Jai Prakash Nautiyal | Para Shooting |
| 5. | Subramanian Raman | Table Tennis |
(iv) Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime achievement in Sports and Games 2021
| S.No. | Name | Discipline |
| 1. | Lekha K.C. | Boxing |
| 2. | Abhijeet Kunte | Chess |
| 3. | Davinder Singh Garcha | Hockey |
| 4. | Vikas Kumar | Kabaddi |
| 5. | Sajjan Singh | Wrestling |
(v) Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar 2021
| S. No. | Category | Entity recommended for Rashtriya Khel ProtsahanPuraskar, 2021 |
| 1. | Identification and Nurturing of Budding and Young Talent | Manav Rachna Educational Institution |
| 2. | Encouragement to sports through Corporate Social Responsibility | Indian Oil Corporation Limited |
(vi) Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy 2021: Panjab University – Chandigarh
