Now Reading: Sports ministry defends 17-name Arjuna Award list
-
01
Sports ministry defends 17-name Arjuna Award list
The Story in Brief
The sports ministry has defended its decision to approve 17 Arjuna Award recipients from the 24 names recommended by a committee led by retired Supreme Court judge Arun Kumar Mishra. It said awards must be earned on performance, not reputation, and that the ministry has the final say. No athlete will receive the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna for 2025, the first such gap since 2014.
The approved list includes badminton players Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, athletes Tejaswin Shankar and Muhammed Ajmal, and chess players Vidit Gujarathi and Divya Deshmukh. Seven athletes were excluded after re-evaluation. The ministry also said the Sports Authority of India spent Rs 20 crore on preparations for the badminton World Championships in Delhi. The Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue 2027 quiz is open to people aged 15 to 29 until September 16, with organisers targeting 1 crore participants.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The decision gives the ministry wider control over the final composition of national awards, even when an expert panel has completed its recommendations. That can make the process more selective, but it also places greater weight on the ministry’s criteria and the explanation offered for rejecting names. Athletes excluded this year have no announced review route in the information available here. The next clear signals are the final award ceremony and whether future panels receive published eligibility standards before making recommendations.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Methodology and corrections.
