Dhinidhi Desinghu made the world take notice of her talent by becoming the youngest Indian athlete, at 14, to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The Indian swimming prodigy currently holds three national records and has secured 42 international medals.
On Friday, the Bangalore swimmer was conferred with the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, top civilian award for children in India, by the President of India Droupadi Murmu at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
A total of 20 children from 18 States & Union Territories were conferred with the honour, of which nine were recognised for their achievements in the field of sport.
A look at their accomplishments:
Anushka Kumari, Football
Anushka is a standout football talent from Ranchi, Jharkhand and comes from a humble background as the daughter of a daily-wage labourer, with her father currently unwell.
At just 14, she has already made a significant impact on the football scene, scoring 10 goals in seven international matches at the SAFF U17 Women’s Championship.
In the same tournament, she registered her first hat-trick in an astonishing 19 minutes against Bhutan.
Pragnika Vaka, Chess
This 7-year-old chess prodigy from Surat, Gujarat secured the world champion title at the World School Under-7 Girls Chess Championship 2025 in Serbia.
Pragnika scored a perfect nine out of nine points and was the only Indian to win the gold medal across all age groups. Interestingly, she won the title even before the final round was played.
Shivani Uppara, Para Athlete
The 17-year-old is a prominent para-athlete from Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh. A daughter of vegetable vendors, Shivani was born without a right arm.
She is known for her achievements in shot-put and javelin throw F45. She became the U20 champion at the World Ability Sports Games in Thailand in 2023. Shivani also secured three gold in U-17 100m Run, Javelin Throw, and Shot-Put at the National Junior & Sub-Junior Para Athletics Championships in Bengaluru in 2024.
Jyoti, Para athlete
Born with one leg shorter than the other, Jyoti has overcome challenges to become a rising star in para-sports.
Jyoti, 17, belongs to Sirsa, Haryana and has won as many as 12 medals at national and international level in shot put, discus throw and javelin throw. By 2023, Jyoti’s unwavering dedication had begun to show results when she earned silver medals in javelin throw and shot put, along with a bronze in discus throw in Thailand.
Yogita Mandavi, Judo
Yogita Mandavi is a 14-year-old judoka from Chhattisgarh. Yogita has lost both her parents and has won medals at the state and national levels.
Yogita won a bronze medal at the Sub-Junior and Cadet Championship held in Hyderabad.
Vishwanath Karthikey Padakanti, Mountaineering
On May 27, 2025, the Hyderabadi teenager became the youngest Indian and the second youngest person in the world to complete the legendary Seven Summits challenge. The feat included scaling the highest peak on each continent and is accorded as one of the most prestigious feats in global mountaineering.
Jyoshna Sabar, Weightlifting
The 17-year-old weightlifter from Gajapati district in Odisha has achieved remarkable success on the international stage.
She won a bronze medal at the Asian Youth Junior Weightlifting Championship in Albania in 2023, followed by a gold medal at the Asian Junior Weightlifting Championship in New Delhi in 2024.
In 2025, she claimed gold at the International Junior Weightlifting Championship in Peru, where she also set a record by lifting the heaviest weight in her category. Her father is a farm labourer.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Cricket
Born in 2011, Vaibhav Suryavanshi is a 14-year-old cricketing talent from Bihar who has already made history by competing at the professional level.
In 2025, Vaibhav became the youngest player ever to earn an Indian Premier League (IPL) contract when he was signed by the Rajasthan Royals for a whopping Rs 1.1 crore.
He also became the youngest-ever centurion in men’s T20 cricket, scoring 101 off 38 balls against the Gujarat Titans.
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