Major Dhyanchand Khel Ratna recommended to Hardik Singh, Arjuna Award will be absent

New Delhi: Indian men’s hockey team vice-captain Hardik Singh has been nominated for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award for 2025. The selection committee, in its meeting on Wednesday, selected Hardik as the sole recommendation for this prestigious award. The 27-year-old Hardik is a skilful pillar of the midfield and has played a key role in India’s recent achievements.

Hardik Singh has been an important member of the Indian team that won bronze medals in Tokyo Olympics 2021 and Paris Olympics 2024. He also played an important role in winning the gold medal in the Asia Cup this year. He has played 164 international matches for India so far and scored 12 goals. His pace control and strategic understanding of his playing style becomes an inspiration for the new generation of Indian hockey.

This award is considered to be the highest sports honor of the country, which includes a medal, citation and an amount of Rs 25 lakh. Last year, four players had received this honour, but this time only Hardik’s name has been recommended.

Names of 24 players recommended for Arjuna Award

In the same meeting, names of 24 players were recommended for the Arjuna Award. These include names like chess talented teenager Divya Deshmukh, decathlon athlete Tejaswin Shankar, shooting’s Mehuli Ghosh and badminton pair Trisa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand. Yogasana’s Aarti Pal has been nominated for this award for the first time. Rajkumar Pal and Lalremsiami from hockey are also included in the recommendation for Arjuna Award. This year no cricketer was selected for these awards.

The selection committee included prominent personalities like Indian Olympic Association vice-president Gagan Narang, former badminton player Aparna Popat and former hockey player MM Somaiya. This achievement of Hardik will give new inspiration to Indian hockey, which is continuously winning medals in the Olympics. This honor is a true symbol of Hardik’s dedication and team spirit.