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India men’s hockey team vice-captain Hardik Singh is the only sportsperson nominated for this year’s Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award. Young chess player Divya Deshmukh and leading decathlete Tejaswin Shankar are among the 24 athletes chosen for the Arjuna awards by the selection panel on Wednesday. The 27-year-old Hardik has played an important role in India’s midfield and was part of the medal-winning Indian teams at the 2021 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympic Games. This year he also helped India win the gold medal at the Asia Cup. For the first time a Yogasan player Aarti Pal has been suggested for the Arjuna award five years after the sport was officially recognised by the Sports Ministry. Aarti is the current national and Asian champion in Yogasan a sport that will be shown as a demonstration event at the 2026 Asian Games. The selection panel also chose 21 more athletes for the Arjuna award. The panel includes IOA vice president Gagan Narang former badminton player Aparna Popat and ex-hockey player M M Somaya. Nineteen-year-old Divya Deshmukh is the first Indian woman to win a World Cup. Chess player Vidit Gujrathi and decathlete Tejaswin Shankar who won a historic silver at the 2023 Asian Games and another silver at the Asian Championships are also recommended for the Arjuna award. Rifle shooter Mehuli Ghosh a two-time World Championship bronze winner and multiple Asian Championship medallist gymnast Pranati Nayak and India’s top women’s badminton pair Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand are also on the list. Gayatri is the daughter of national coach and former All England champion Pullela Gopichand. No cricketer has been selected this time. The last cricketer to get the award was pacer Mohammed Shami in 2023. The Khel Ratna Indias highest sports award comes with a medal a certificate and Rs 25 lakh. The Arjuna award includes Rs 15 lakh along with a medal and citation. Last year four athletes received the Khel Ratna: world chess champion D Gukesh men’s hockey captain Harmanpreet Singh para-athlete Praveen Kumar and shooter Manu Bhaker. Check out the full list of nominations - Award Athlete Sport Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Hardik Singh Hockey Arjuna Award Tejaswin Shankar Athletics Arjuna Award Priyanka Athletics Arjuna Award Narender Boxing Arjuna Award Vidit Gujrathi Chess Arjuna Award Divya Deshmukh Chess Arjuna Award Dhanush Srikanth Deaf Shooting Arjuna Award Pranati Nayak Gymnastics Arjuna Award Rajkumar Pal Hockey Arjuna Award Surjeet Kabaddi Arjuna Award Nirmala Bhati Kho Kho Arjuna Award Rudransh Khandelwal Para-Shooting Arjuna Award Ekta Bhyan Para-Athletics Arjuna Award Padmanabh Singh Polo Arjuna Award Arvind Singh Rowing Arjuna Award Akhil Sheoran Shooting Arjuna Award Mehuli Ghosh Shooting Arjuna Award Sutirtha Mukherjee Table Tennis Arjuna Award Sonam Malik Wrestling Arjuna Award Aarti Yoga Arjuna Award Treesa Jolly Badminton Arjuna Award Gayatri Gopichand Badminton Arjuna Award Lalremsiami Hockey Arjuna Award Mohammed Afsal Athletics Arjuna Award Pooja Kabaddi