National Sports Awards: Manu Bhaker, Gukesh & more honoured; cash prize revealed, awardees list here (WATCH)

Manu Bhaker and D. Gukesh added a touch of brilliance, but it was India's para-athletes who received the loudest applause during the National Sports Awards ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday, where President Droupadi Murmu honoured the country's top sports figures.

Double Olympic medalist Bhaker, 18-year-old chess world champion Gukesh, men's hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh, and Paralympic gold medalist high jumper Praveen Kumar were each awarded the prestigious Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, India’s highest sporting honour.

Bhaker, 22, made history as the first athlete from independent India to win two medals in a single Olympic Games, securing bronze in both the 10m air pistol individual and mixed team events in August of the previous year.

Harmanpreet Singh was part of the national hockey teams that won bronze medals at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympics, while Praveen Kumar, who was born with a shortened left leg, upgraded his silver from Tokyo to a gold in Paris.

The 18-year-old D. Gukesh made history by becoming the youngest-ever chess world champion after defeating China’s Ding Liren last month. Gukesh is only the second Indian, after the legendary Viswanathan Anand, to earn this title. He also played a key role in India’s gold medal victory in the men’s team event at the Chess Olympiad last September.

In total, 32 athletes were honoured with the Arjuna Award, with a historic 17 of them being para-athletes.

The Arjuna Award recipients included the Paris Olympics bronze medal-winning wrestling team member Aman Sehrawat, shooters Swapnil Kusale and Sarabjot Singh (Bhaker's partner in the 10m air pistol mixed event at the Olympics), and members of the men’s hockey team Jarmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Sanjay, and Abhishek.

This year, para-athletes outnumbered their able-bodied counterparts in the list of awardees, a reflection of their remarkable performance at the Paris Paralympics, where they secured 29 medals, including seven golds and nine silvers.

President Droupadi Murmu also broke from tradition on several occasions, personally receiving athletes in wheelchairs, such as Pranav Soorma, who was honoured with the Arjuna Award for his silver medal in the Paralympic club throw event.

Petkar draws loudest applause

The most touching moment of the ceremony came when India's first Paralympic gold medalist, Murlikant Petkar, walked up to President Droupadi Murmu on crutches to receive the Arjuna Lifetime Achievement Award.

The 80-year-old war hero, who became disabled from the waist down due to bullet wounds sustained during the 1965 India-Pakistan war, was originally a boxer. After multiple injuries, he turned to para-swimming and went on to win a historic gold medal at the 1972 Paralympics in Heidelberg.

Petkar's arrival was met with a standing ovation that lasted until he returned to his seat after receiving the award. Among those applauding in the Durbar Hall was actor Kartik Aryan, who portrayed Petkar in the recent biopic Chandu Champion.

Dignitaries including Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Parliamentary and Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, and Sports Secretary Sujata Chaturvedi were among those who attended the ceremony, which lasted just over an hour.

Cash prize for awardees

The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award carries a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh, while the Arjuna and Dronacharya awards each come with a cash prize of Rs 15 lakh.

One of the standout winners of the Dronacharya Award this year was shooting coach Deepali Deshpande, who mentored shooter Swapnil Kusale, along with former national football manager Armando Colaco.

The Arjuna Awards are presented to athletes who have shown exceptional performance over the past four years, as well as demonstrated leadership, sportsmanship, and discipline. The annual honours are based on a points system, with the most weight given to performances at the Olympics and World Championships.

Full list of award winners

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award: D Gukesh (Chess), Harmanpreet Singh (Hockey), Praveen Kumar (Para-Athletics), Manu Bhaker (Shooting).

Arjuna Awards: Jyothi Yarraji (Athletics), Annu Rani (Athletics), Nitu (Boxing), Saweety (Boxing), Vantika Agrawal (Chess), Salima Tete (Hockey), Abhishek (Hockey), Sanjay (Hockey), Jarmanpreet Singh (Hockey), Sukhjeet Singh (Hockey), Rakesh Kumar (Para-Archery), Preeti Pal (Para-Athletics), Jeevanji Deepthi (Para-Athletics), Ajeet Singh (Para-Athletics), Sachin Sarjerao Khilari (Para-Athletics), Dharambir (Para-Athletics), Pranav Soorma (Para-Athletics), H Hokato Sema (Para-Athletics), Simran (Para-Athletics), Navdeep (Para-Athletics), Nitesh Kumar (Para-Badminton), Thulasimathi Murugesan (Para-Badminton), Nithya Sre Sumathy Sivan (Para-Badminton), Manisha Ramadass (Para-Badminton), Kapil Parmar (Para-Judo), Mona Agarwal (Para-Shooting), Rubina Francis (Para-Shooting), Swapnil Suresh Kusale (Shooting), Sarabjot Singh (Shooting), Abhay Singh (Squash), Sajan Prakash (Swimming), Aman (Wrestling).

Arjuna Awards (Lifetime): Sucha Singh (Athletics), Murlikant Rajaram Petkar (Para-Swimming).

Dronacharya Award: Subhash Rana (Para-Shooting), Deepali Deshpande (Shooting), Sandeep Sangwan (Hockey), S Muralidharan (Badminton), Armando Agnelo Colaco (Football)

Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar: Physical Education Foundation of India

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) Trophy for top-performing university in the Khelo India University Games: Chandigarh University, Lovely Professional University and Guru Nanak Dev University.