# List of National Sports Award recipients in athletics

The National Sports Awards is the collective name given to the six sports awards of Republic of India. These are awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. They are presented by the President of India in the same ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, usually on 29 August each year, along with the national adventure award. As of 2020, a total of 133 individuals have been awarded the various National Sports Awards in athletics. The four awards presented in athletics are the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award, Dhyan Chand Award, and Dronacharya Award.
First presented in the year 1961, the Arjuna Award in athletics has been given to a total of 94 individuals for their "good performance at the international level" over the period of the previous four years, with four individuals being awarded for their lifetime contribution. First presented in the year 1985, the Dronacharya Award has been presented to a total of 24 coaches in athletics for their "outstanding work on a consistent basis and enabling sportspersons to excel in international events" over the period of last four years, with seven coaches being awarded in the lifetime contribution category. First presented in the year 1998–1999, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the highest sporting honour of India, has been given to a total of three sportspersons in athletics for their "most outstanding performance at the international level" over the period of last four years. The Dhyan Chand Award, the lifetime achievement sporting honour of India first presented in the year 2004 has been given to a total of 12 retired sportspersons in athletics for their "good performance at the international level and their continued contributions to the promotion of sports even after their career as a sportsperson is over". One awardee, R. Gandhi, was posthumously honoured with the Dronacharya Award in the year 2017.

## Recipients

As of 2020, three sportspersons in athletics have been awarded the highest sporting award, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna. The first recipient was Jyotirmoyee Sikdar, a former middle-distance runner who won a gold medal in 800 metres at the 1995 Asian Athletics Championships, a bronze medal in 1500 metres at the 1998 Asian Athletics Championships, and a gold medal in both the 800 metres and 1500 metres at the 1998 Asian Games held at Bangkok. She was presented with the Arjuna Award in the year 1995 and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in the year 1998–1999. Sikdar was subsequently conferred with India's fourth highest civilian award, the Padma Shri, in the year 2003. She later became a politician, serving as the member of parliament representing Communist Party of India (Marxist) from the Krishnagar constituency in the 14th Lok Sabha.
The second recipient, K. M. Beenamol, came to the national limelight after qualifying for the semi finals of the women's 400 metres race at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She won gold medals in both the women's 800 metres and the 4 × 400 metres women's relay in the 2002 Asian Games held at Busan, South Korea. She was presented with the Arjuna Award in the year 2000, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in the year 2002, and the Padma Shri in the year 2004.
The third recipient, Anju Bobby George, a long jumper, is India's first and only World Champion at the IAAF World Athletics Final. In 2003, she became the first Indian athlete ever to win a medal in World Athletics Championships, winning bronze. She secured fifth place in the women's long jump in the 2004 Summer Olympics held at Athens. She was presented with the Arjuna Award in the year 2002, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in the year 2003, and the Padma Shri in the year 2004.
Key :
| + Indicates a Lifetime contribution honour | # Indicates a posthumous honour |
List of National Sports award recipients, showing the year, award and gender :
| Year | Recipient | Award | Gender |
| 1998–1999 | Jyotirmoyee Sikdar | Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna | Female |
| 2002 | K. M. Beenamol | Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna | Female |
| 2003 | Anju Bobby George | Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna | Female |
| 2021 | Neeraj Chopra | Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award | Male |
| 1961 | Gurbachan Singh Randhawa | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1962 | Tarlok Singh | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1963 | Stephie D'Souza | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 1964 | Makhan Singh | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1965 | Kenneth Powell | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1966 | Bhogeswar Baruah | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1966 | Ajmer Singh | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1967 | Bhim Singh | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1967 | Praveen Kumar Sobti | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1968 | Joginder Singh | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1968 | Manjit Walia | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 1969 | Harnek Singh | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1970 | Mohinder Singh Gill | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1971 | Edward Sequeira | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1972 | Vijay Singh Chauhan | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1973 | Sriram Singh | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1974 | Shivnath Singh Rajput | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1974 | T. C. Yohannan | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1975 | V. Anusuya Bai | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 1975 | Hari Chand | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1976 | Bahadur Singh Chouhan | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1976 | Geeta Zutshi | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 1978–1979 | Suresh Babu | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1978–1979 | Angel Mary Joseph | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 1979–1980 | Ramaswamy Gnanasekaran | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1980–1981 | Gopal Saini | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1981 | Sabir Ali | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1982 | Charles Borromeo | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1982 | Chand Ram | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1982 | M. D. Valsamma | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 1983 | P. T. Usha | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 1983 | Suresh Yadav | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1984 | Shiny Abraham | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 1984 | Raj Kumar | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1985 | Asha Agarwal | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 1985 | Raghubir Singh Bal | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1985 | Adille Sumariwala | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1986 | Suman Rawat | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 1987 | Vandana Rao | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 1987 | Vandana Shanbagh | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 1987 | Bagicha Singh | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1987 | Balwinder Singh | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1988 | Ashwini Nachappa | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 1989 | Mercy Kuttan | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 1990 | Deena Ram | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1992 | Bahadur Prasad | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1993 | K. Saramma | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 1994 | Rosa Kutty | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 1995 | Jyotirmoyee Sikdar | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 1995 | Shakti Singh | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1996 | Ajit Bhaduria | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1996 | Padmini Thomas | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 1997 | Reeth Abraham | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 1998 | S. D. Eshan | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1998 | Rachita Mistry | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1998 | Sri Chand Ram | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1998 | Neelam Jaswant Singh | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 1998 | Paramjit Singh | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1999 | Parduman Singh Brar $^+$ | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1999 | Gulab Chand | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 1999 | Gurmeet Kaur | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 1999 | Sunita Rani | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2000 | K. M. Beenamol | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2000 | Vijayamala Bhanot $^+$ | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2000 | Rachna Govil $^+$ | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2000 | Milkha Singh $^+$ | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 2002 | Anju Bobby George | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2002 | Saraswati Saha | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2003 | Soma Biswas | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2003 | Madhuri Saxena | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2004 | Anil Kumar Prakash | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 2004 | J. J. Shobha | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2005 | Manjeet Kaur | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2006 | K. M. Binu | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 2007 | Chitra Soman | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2009 | Sinimole Paulose | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2010 | Joseph Abraham | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 2010 | Krishna Poonia | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2011 | Vikas Gowda | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 2011 | Preeja Sreedharan | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2012 | Kavita Raut | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2012 | Sudha Singh | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2014 | Tintu Luka | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2015 | M. R. Poovamma | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2016 | Lalita Babar | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2017 | Khushbir Kaur | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2017 | Arokia Rajiv | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 2018 | Neeraj Chopra | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 2018 | Hima Das | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2018 | Jinson Johnson | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 2019 | Muhammed Anas | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 2019 | Swapna Barman | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2019 | Tejinder Pal Singh Toor | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 2020 | Dutee Chand | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2021 | Arpinder Singh | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 2022 | Seema Punia | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2022 | Eldhose Paul | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 2022 | Avinash Sable | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 2023 | Parul Chaudhary | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2023 | M Sreeshankar | Arjuna Award | Male |
| 2024 | Jyothi Yarraji | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2024 | Annu Rani | Arjuna Award | Female |
| 2004 | Labh Singh | Dhyan Chand Award | Male |
| 2006 | Uday K. Prabhu | Dhyan Chand Award | Male |
| 2008 | Hakam Singh | Dhyan Chand Award | Male |
| 2009 | Ishar Singh Deol | Dhyan Chand Award | Male |
| 2010 | Satish Pillai | Dhyan Chand Award | Male |
| 2012 | Jagraj Singh Mann | Dhyan Chand Award | Male |
| 2013 | Mary D'Souza Sequeira | Dhyan Chand Award | Female |
| 2016 | Sathi Geetha | Dhyan Chand Award | Female |
| 2017 | Bhupender Singh | Dhyan Chand Award | Male |
| 2018 | Bobby Aloysius | Dhyan Chand Award | Female |
| 2020 | Kuldip Singh Bhullar | Dhyan Chand Award | Male |
| 2020 | Jincy Philips | Dhyan Chand Award | Female |
| 2022 | Ashwini Akkunji | Dhyan Chand Award | Female |
| 2024 | Sucha Singh | Dhyan Chand Award | Male |
| 2011 | Kuntal Kumar Roy $^+$ | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 2012 | Jasvinder Singh Bhatia $^+$ | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 2013 | K. P. Thomas $^+$ | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 2014 | N. Lingappa $^+$ | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 2015 | Harbans Singh $^+$ | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 2018 | V. R. Beedu $^+$ | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 2020 | Purushotham Rai $^+$ | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 2021 | T.P. Ouseph $^+$ | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 1985 | O. M. Nambiar | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 1994 | Ilyas Babar | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 1995 | Karan Singh | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 1997 | Joginder Singh Saini | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 1998 | Bahadur Singh Chouhan | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 1998 | Hargobind Singh Sandhu | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 1999 | Kenneth Owen Bosen | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 2002 | Renu Kohli | Dronacharya Award | Female |
| 2002 | Jaswant Singh | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 2003 | Robert Bobby George | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 2006 | R. D. Singh | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 2010 | A. K. Kutty | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 2012 | Virender Poonia | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 2016 | Nagapuri Ramesh | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 2017 | R. Gandhi$^#$ | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 2018 | Sukhdev Singh Pannu | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 2019 | Mohinder Singh Dhillon | Dronacharya Award | Male |
| 2021 | Radhakrishnan Nair P | Dronacharya Award | Male |