New Delhi, Nov 13: President Droupadi Murmu presented the prestigious Arjuna Award to several Indian sportspersons, including athletes Tejaswin Shankar and Priyanka Goswami and shooter Akhil Sheoran, at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday.

The National Sports Awards are presented annually to recognise excellence in sports and honour the achievements of outstanding sportspersons and coaches. The recipients were selected based on the recommendations of a committee chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice (Retd.) Arun Kumar Mishra.

Indian decathlon and high jump star Tejaswin Shankar was among those honoured for his achievements in athletics. He has won medals at major international competitions, including the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.

India's race walker Priyanka Goswami, a silver medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, was also presented with the prestigious award.

Sprinter Muhammad Ajmal Variyathodi, who won gold in the men's 4x400m relay and silver in the mixed 4x400m relay at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, was another recipient recognised for his contributions to Indian athletics.

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Boxer Narender, who has won medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games and the Asian Boxing Championships in Amman, was also among the Arjuna Award recipients.

Shooter Akhil Sheoran, an Asian Games and World Championships gold medallist, was also honoured. He had won silver at the 2025 Asian Championships and most recently secured bronze at the ISSF World Championships in Doha.

Rower Arvind Singh, who has won medals at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games and the Asian Rowing Championships, was also recognised for his achievements.

The other recipients of the Arjuna Award include badminton players Treesa Jolly and Pullela Gayatri Gopichand, chess players Vidit Santosh Gujarathi and Divya Jitendra Deshmukh, deaf shooter Dhanush Srikanth, hockey players Lalremsiami and Rajkumar Pal, kabaddi players Surjeet and Pooja, para-shooter Rudransh Khandelwal and para-athlete Ekta Bhyan.

Former Indian footballer and coach I Arumainayagam was conferred the Arjuna Award (Lifetime) for his contribution to the sport.

In the Dronacharya Award category, Parveer Singh (athletics), Chhote Lal Yadav (boxing) and Neha Nandkumar Chavan (shooting) were honoured in the regular category for their contributions to coaching.

Meanwhile, Dharmendra Singh Yadav (boxing) and Virender Kumar (wrestling) received the Dronacharya Award in the lifetime category.

The Army Paralympic Node, Pune, was conferred the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar for its contribution to the promotion and development of sports.

The Arjuna Award for outstanding performance in Sports and Games is presented for consistent achievements over the previous four years, along with qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and discipline.

The Arjuna Award (Lifetime) recognises sportspersons who have made significant contributions through their performances and continue to promote sports even after retiring from active competition.

The Dronacharya Award honours coaches for their consistent and outstanding contributions towards enabling sportspersons to excel in international competitions.

The Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar is presented to corporate entities and non-governmental organisations that have played a significant role in promoting and developing sports.