National Sports Awards 2024 | 04 Jan 2025

Recently, the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports announced the National Sports Awards 2024.

Names of the awardee were announced for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, Arjuna, Dronacharya, Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar, and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) trophy.

Awards	Recipients
Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award	Gukesh D (Chess), Harmanpreet Singh (Hockey), Praveen Kumar (Para-Athletics) and Manu Bhaker (Shooting).
Arjuna Awards for outstanding performance	Jyothi Yarraji (Athletics), Annu Rani (Athletics), Nitu (Boxing), Rakesh Kumar (Para-Archery), Navdeep (Para-Athletics) etc.
Arjuna Awards (Lifetime) for outstanding performance	Sucha Singh (Athletics), Murlikant Rajaram Petkar (Para-Swimming)
Dronacharya Award	Subhash Rana (Para-Shooting), S Muralidharan (Badminton) etc.
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar	Physical Education Foundation of India
MAKA Trophy	Chandigarh University (Overall winner)

Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award: It is considered India’s highest sporting honour.
- The award is given for outstanding performances in sports spanning over a period of four years and the winners receive a medallion, certificate and a cash prize.
Arjuna Award: It is awarded for consistently 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: It is India’s highest sports honour for coaches.
- It is awarded to individuals for producing medal winners at prestigious international events.
Major Dhyan Chand Award: It is another award named after India’s hockey magician Dhyan Chand.
- It represents India’s highest honour for lifetime achievements in sports.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy: It is given to an institution or university for top performance in inter-university tournaments over the last one year.
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar: It is 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.

Q.Consider the following pairs with regard to sports awards: (2023)

ward Name	Purpose
Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award	For the most spectacular and outstanding performance by a sportsperson over the last four years.
Arjuna Award	For lifetime achievement by a sportsperson.
Dronacharya Award	To honour eminent coaches who have successfully trained sportspersons or teams.
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar	To recognize the contribution made by sports persons even after their retirement.

How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) All four

Ans: (b)

Q. Consider the following statements in respect of the Laureus World Sports Award which was instituted in the year 2000:

American golfer Tiger Woods was the first winner of this award.
The award was received mostly by ‘Formula One’ players so far.
Roger Federer received this award the maximum number of times compared to others.

Which of the above statements are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Ans: (c)