President Droupadi Murmu conferred the 2025 Dronacharya and Arjuna Awards at Rashtrapati Bhavan, honoring distinguished coaches and athletes for their significant contributions and excellence in Indian sports.
Dronacharya And Arjuna Awards 2025 Conferred By President Murmu
New Delhi [India], November 13 (ANI): Athletics coach Parveer Singh, boxing coach Chhote Lal Yadav and shooting coach Neha Nandkumar Chavan were among the recipients of the Dronacharya Awards 2025, presented by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday. The President presented the Sports and Adventure Awards 2025 at a function in New Delhi and the Awards include Dronacharya Awards 2025, Arjuna Awards 2025, Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Awards 2024, and Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar 2025.
The Dronacharya Award in the regular category was conferred upon the three coaches in recognition of their contribution to Indian sports, while wrestling coach Virender Kumar and boxing coach Dharmendra Singh Yadav received the Dronacharya Award (Lifetime). Parveer Singh has coached several prominent athletes, including shot putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor and javelin thrower Annu Rani, who have won medals at the Asian Games 2022 and Commonwealth Games 2022.
Chhote Lal Yadav has trained boxers such as M.C. Mary Kom, Jaismine and Sakshi, who have won medals at the Commonwealth Games 2022 and Asian Championship 2021. Shooting coach Neha Nandkumar Chavan has guided athletes including Elavenil Valarivan, Ramita, Maddineni Uma Mahesh and Dhanush Srikanth to success at international competitions, including the Asian Games 2022, Asian Championships in 2023 and 2024, and the World Deaf Shooting Championship 2024.
In the lifetime category, Virender Kumar was recognised for his work with wrestlers such as Sushil Kumar, Ravi Kumar, Amit Kumar, Sumit, Lalita, Mohit and Deepak Punia. His trainees have won medals at the Olympic Games, World Championships, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. Dharmendra Singh Yadav, who has coached boxers including Mohammad Ali Qamar, Vikas Krishna, Mandeep Jangra, Manish Kaushik, Anthresh Lalit Lakra and Gaurav Solanki, was also honoured with the lifetime award.
Meanwhile, athletics stars Tejaswin Shankar, Muhammad Ajmal Variyathodi and Priyanka Goswami, along with shooter Akhil Sheoran, were among the sportspersons conferred with the Arjuna Award for outstanding performance in sports and games. A total of 17 sportspersons were named for the Arjuna Award, including badminton players Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, chess players Vidit Santosh Gujarathi and Divya Jitendra Deshmukh, hockey players Lalremsiami and Rajkumar Pal, and shooter Dhanush Srikanth. Former Indian footballer and coach Arumainayagam received the Arjuna Award (Lifetime), while the Army Paralympic Node, Pune, was honoured with the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar. The National Sports Awards are presented annually to recognise excellence and outstanding contributions to sports.
