National Sports And Adventure Awards 2023:
The President of India presented the National Sports and Adventure Awards 2023 at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan.
- National Sports Awards are given every year to recognize and reward excellence in sports.
Categories of National Sports Award:
- Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award:
- 2023: Chirag Shetty and Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy (badminton).
- It is considered India’s highest sporting honour; the Khel Ratna was established in 1991-92. The award is named after the Indian hockey legend, Major Dhyan Chand.
- The award is given for outstanding performances in sports spanning over a period of four years and the Khel Ratna winners receive a medallion, certificate and a cash prize.
- Arjuna Award:
- 2023: Aditi Gopichand Swami (archery), Mohammed Shami (cricket), Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar (shooting)
- It is awarded for consistent good performance over a period of four years. The winners of the Arjuna Award receive a statuette of Arjuna, a certificate and a cash prize.
- Dronacharya Award:
- 2023: Regular Category: Lalit Kumar (wrestling), RB Ramesh (chess) among others.
- Lifetime Category:Jaskirat Singh Grewal (golf), Bhaskaran E (kabaddi) among others.
- It was instituted in 1985, is India’s highest sports honour for coaches. It is awarded to individuals for producing medal winners at prestigious international events. Awardees receive a bronze statue of Dronacharya, a certificate and a cash prize.
- Major Dhyan Chand Award:
- 2023: Manjusha Kanwar (badminton), Vineet Kumar Sharma (hockey), Kavitha Selvaraj (kabaddi)
- This award represents India’s highest honour for lifetime achievements in sports. Presented for good performance and contributing towards the promotion of sports in an individual capacity since 2002, the winners get a Dhyan Chand statuette, a certificate and a cash prize.
- Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy (MAKA):
- 2023: Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar (overall winner university); Lovely Professional University, Punjab (first runner -up); Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra (second runner-up)
- It was instituted in 1956–1957. It is given to an institution or university for top performance in inter-university tournaments over the last one year.
- Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar:
- 2023: JAIN (Deemed-to-be-University), Odisha Mining Corporation Limited.
- Awarded to organisations or corporates (both private and public) and individuals for playing a role in the area of sports promotion and development over the last three years.
