Men's Hockey Vice Captain Hardik Singh Nominated For Khel Ratna, No Cricketer Shortlisted For Arjuna Awards, Check Full List Here

Two-time Olympic bronze medalist and Indian men's hockey team vice-captain Hardik Singh has been nominated for the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, country's top sports prize. No cricketers have been shortlisted as a total of 24 players have been nominated for the Arjuna Award.

Hardik Singh Nominated For Khel Ratna

Hardik is the sole nominee for the Khel Ratna this year. He will be the 7th hockey player after Dhanraj Pillay (1999-2000), Sardar Singh (2017), Rani Rampal (2020), PR Sreejesh (2021), Manpreet Singh (2021) and Harmanpreet Singh (2024) to be honoured with the award.

Hardik has been a key player for the Indian Men's Hockey Team since 2018 and was one of the chief architects in India's heroics at Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics. He also was influential in India's Asia Cup victory earlier this year, which ensured a place in the Hockey World Cup next year. He has played 164 matches so far for the country. 

24 Athletes Shortlisted For Arjuna Awards

Aarti Pal has been nominated for the Arjuna Awards and this is the first time a yogasana athlete has been shorlisted for this award. Aarti happens to be the current national and Asian champion in yogasana.

Rifle shooter Mehuli Ghosh, gymnast Pranati Nayak and India's top-ranked women's badminton pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand are other nominees. Suprisingly no member of  India's Women's World Cup winning team has been nominated.

India defeated South Africa to lift the Women's World Cup for the first time in cricket history.

*National Sports Awards 2025 Nomination List

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award: Hardik Singh (hockey)

Arjuna Award: Tejaswin Shankar (athletics), Priyanka (athletics), Narender (boxing), Vidit Gujrathi (chess), Divya Deshmukh (chess), Dhanush Srikanth (deaf shooting), Pranati Nayak (gymnastics), Rajkumar Pal (hockey), Surjeet (kabaddi), Nirmala Bhati (kho kho), Rudransh Khandelwal (para-shooting), Ekta Bhyan (para-athletics), Padmanabh Singh (polo), Arvind Singh (rowing), Akhil Sheoran (shooting), Mehuli Ghosh (shooting), Sutirtha Mukherjee (table tennis), Sonam Malik (wrestling), Aarti Pal (yogasana), Treesa Jolly (badminton), Gayatri Gopichand (badminton), Lalremsiami (hockey), Mohammed Afsal (athletics), Pooja (kabaddi).

Dronacharya Award: TBD

Dhyan Chand Lifetime Award: TBD.

Also Read: ‘Will Initiate Inquiry’: Minister Reacts After Young Odisha Wrestlers Made To Travel Sitting Near Train Toilets

(With ANI Inputs)