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List of Arjuna Award recipients (2000–2009)

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Arjuna Award
Civilian award for outstanding individual achievements in National Sports
Sponsored byGovernment of India
Established1961
First awarded1961
Highlights
Total awarded151

The Arjuna Award, officially known as the Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games,[1] is the sports honour of Republic of India. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Before the introduction of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 1991–1992, the Arjuna award was the highest sporting honour of India.[2][3] As of 2020, the award comprises "a bronze statuette of Arjuna, certificate, ceremonial dress, and a cash prize of ₹15 lakh (US$18,000)."[a]

Name

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The award is named after Arjuna, a character from the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata of ancient India. He is one of the Pandavas, depicted as a skilled archer winning the hand of Draupadi in marriage and in the Kurukshetra War, Lord Krishna becomes his charioteer teaching him the sacred knowledge of Gita.[4] In Hindu mythology, he has been seen as a symbol of hard work, dedication and concentration.[5]

History

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Instituted in 1961 to honour the outstanding sportspersons of the country,[6] the award over the years has undergone a number of expansions, reviews, and rationalizations. The award was expanded to include all the recognised disciplines in 1977, has introduced indigenous games and physically handicapped categories in 1995 and introduced a lifetime contribution category in 1995 leading to creation of a separate Dhyan Chand Award in 2002.[7][8] The latest revision in 2018 stipulates that the award is given only to the disciplines included in the events like Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championship and World Cup along with Cricket, Indigenous Games, and Parasports. It also recommends giving only fifteen awards in a year, relaxing in case of excellent performance in major multi-sport events, team sports, across gender and giving away of at least one award to physically challenged category.[1]

The nominations for the award are received from all government recognised National Sports Federations, the Indian Olympic Association, the Sports Authority of India (SAI), the Sports Promotion and Control Boards, the state and the union territory governments and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna, Dhyan Chand and Dronacharya awardees of the previous years. The recipients are selected by a committee constituted by the Ministry and are honoured for their "good performance in the field of sports over a period of four years" at international level and for having shown "qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and a sense of discipline".[1]

Recipients

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A total of 151 awards were presented in the 2000s – thirty-one in 2000, followed by fourteen in 2001, twenty-one in 2002, fifteen in 2003, fifteen in 2004, fifteen in 2005, fourteen in 2006, eleven in 2007 and fifteen in 2009. Individuals from twenty-six different sports were awarded, which includes nineteen from hockey, eighteen from athletics, thirteen from wrestling, twelve from shooting, nine from badminton, eight each from cricket and kabaddi, seven from chess, six each from boxing and rowing, five from table tennis, four each from archery and billiards & snooker, three each from golf, judo, lawn tennis, swimming, volleyball, weightlifting and yachting, two each from equestrian, football and powerlifting, and one each from basketball, gymnastics and squash.[9]

A major controversy arose in 2001 when Milkha Singh refused to accept the lifetime contribution honour in athletics, being the only sportsperson to date to do so.[10] Milkha Singh, nicknamed The Flying Sikh, was the first Indian athlete to win an individual athletics gold medal at a Commonwealth Games and is best remembered for his fourth-place finish in the 400 metres final at the 1960 Summer Olympics in which he had entered as one of the favourites; his time of 45.73 seconds stood as the Indian national record for almost 40 years.[11][12] A biographical Bollywood film based on his life, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, was released in 2013 to critical and commercial success.[13][14] His reasoning for declining the award included being clubbed with other sportspersons who were not deserving, politicization and lobbying for the award instead of specialists selecting the winners, and the awarding of players who had one good performance in their lifetime in a non-notable competition rather than awarding consistent performers and medalists at the most prestigious international competitions.[15] The "other sportspersons" have been commonly interpreted as Rachna Govil, awarded the lifetime contribution honour of 2000 in athletics, and Kalpana Debnath, awarded the lifetime contribution honour of 2000 in gymnastics.[16] The former was then the deputy director of Sports Authority of India and the latter was then warden of the National Institute of Sports girls hostel in Patiala.[16] Asian discus champion Anil Kumar challenged both the awards in the Delhi High Court, claiming that both awards seemed less on their individual merits and achievements and more on the political influence and lobbying.[10] Due to the stature of Milkha Singh and the attention the controversy garnered, the Sports Ministry revamped the selection system from the year 2002 onwards and introduced a new award for lifetime achievement in sports, the Dhyan Chand Award.[17] Despite him never accepting the award, Singh's name is on the official awardees list.[9]

List of recipients

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Award recipients by year[9]
Year Number of recipients
2000
31
2001
14
2002
21
2003
15
2004
15
2005
15
2006
14
2007
11
2009
15
Award recipients by sport[9]
Sport Number of recipients
Archery
4
Athletics
18
Badminton
9
Basketball
1
Billiards & Snooker
4
Boxing
6
Chess
7
Cricket
8
Equestrian
2
Football
2
Golf
3
Gymnastics
1
Hockey
19
Judo
3
Kabaddi
8
Lawn Tennis
3
Powerlifting
2
Rowing
6
Shooting
12
Squash
1
Swimming
3
Table Tennis
5
Volleyball
3
Weightlifting
3
Wrestling
13
Yachting
3
Key
   § Indicates Para sports
   + Indicates a Lifetime contribution honour
   # Indicates a posthumous honour
List of Arjuna award recipients, showing the year, sport, and gender[9]
Year Recipient Sport Gender
2000 J. Abhijith Swimming Male
2000 Akhtar Ali + Lawn Tennis Male
2000 Joginder Singh Bedi + Athletics§ Male
2000 K. M. Beenamol Athletics Female
2000 Anjali Bhagwat Shooting Female
2000 Vijayamala Bhanot + Athletics Female
2000 Raghbir Singh Bhola + Hockey Male
2000 Abhinav Bindra Shooting Male
2000 Sanamacha Chanu Weightlifting Female
2000 Tingonleima Chanu Hockey Female
2000 Kalpana Debnath + Gymnastics Female
2000 Rachna Govil + Athletics Female
2000 Sandhu Singh Gurbir + Shooting Male
2000 C. Honappa Kabaddi Male
2000 K. D. Jadhav# + Wrestling + Male
2000 Surender Singh Kanwasi + Rowing Male
2000 Naresh Kumar + Wrestling Male
2000 Vijay Bhalanchandra Munishwar Athletics & Powerlifting§ Male
2000 Kripa Shankar Patel Wrestling Male
2000 Venkatesh Prasad Cricket Male
2000 P. V. Ramana + Volleyball Male
2000 Jalaluddin Rizvi + Hockey Male
2000 Baljit Singh Saini Hockey Male
2000 Balkrishan Singh + Hockey Male
2000 Milkha Singh + Athletics Male
2000 Randhir Singh Wrestling Male
2000 George Thomas Badminton Male
2000 Yadvendra Vashishta Athletics§ Male
2000 Subbaraman Vijayalakshmi Chess Female
2000 Sebastian Xavier Swimming Male
2000 Madhu Yadav + Hockey Female
2001 Bruno Coutinho Football Male
2001 Sita Gussain Hockey Female
2001 K. R. Shankar Iyer Athletics§ Male
2001 Devender Sreekant Joshi Billiards & Snooker Male
2001 Samaresh Jung Shooting Male
2001 Kasam Khan Rowing Male
2001 Sandeep Kirtane Lawn Tennis Male
2001 Ramesh Kumar Wrestling Male
2001 VVS Laxman Cricket Male
2001 Mahesh Ramchandran Yachting Male
2001 B. C. Ramesh Kabaddi Male
2001 Amir Singh Volleyball Male
2001 Parmender Singh Basketball Male
2001 Dilip Tirkey Hockey Male
2002 Palwinder Singh Cheema Wrestling Male
2002 Anju Bobby George Athletics Female
2002 Mantu Ghosh Table Tennis Female
2002 Shiv Kapur Golf Male
2002 Mamta Kharab Hockey Female
2002 Alok Kumar Billiards & Snooker Male
2002 Sujeet Mann Wrestling Male
2002 Nitin Mongia Yachting Male
2002 Thandava Murthy Muthu Weightlifting Male
2002 Mohammed Ali Qamar Boxing Male
2002 Ravikant Reddy Volleyball Male
2002 Saraswati Saha Athletics Female
2002 Krishnan Sasikiran Chess Male
2002 Virender Sehwag Cricket Male
2002 Suma Shirur Shooting Female
2002 Gagan Ajit Singh Hockey Male
2002 Inderpal Singh Rowing Male
2002 Ram Mehar Singh Kabaddi Male
2002 Anwer Sultan Shooting Male
2002 Ramesh Tikaram Badminton & Athletics§ Male
2002 I. M. Vijayan Football Male
2003 Pankaj Advani Billiards & Snooker Male
2003 Soma Biswas Athletics Female
2003 Devesh Chauhan Hockey Male
2003 Suraj Lata Devi Hockey Female
2003 Koneru Humpy Chess Female
2003 Mary Kom Boxing Female
2003 Sanjeev Kumar Kabaddi Male
2003 Rajesh Pattu Equestrian Male
2003 Mithali Raj Cricket Female
2003 Madasu Srinivas Rao Badminton§ Male
2003 Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore Shooting Male
2003 Madhuri Saxena Athletics Female
2003 Akram Shah Judo Male
2003 Harbhajan Singh Cricket Male
2003 Shokinder Tomar Wrestling Male
2004 Deep Kumar Ahlawat Equestrian Male
2004 Angom Anita Chanu Judo Female
2004 Deepali Deshpande Shooting Female
2004 Abhinn Shyam Gupta Badminton Male
2004 Devendra Jhajharia Athletics§ Male
2004 Sharath Kamal Table Tennis Male
2004 Jenil Krishnan Rowing Male
2004 Anuj Kumar Wrestling Male
2004 Helen Mary Hockey Female
2004 Sania Mirza Lawn Tennis Female
2004 Anil Kumar Prakash Athletics Male
2004 Jyoti Randhawa Golf Male
2004 J. J. Shobha Athletics Female
2004 Sunder Singh Kabaddi Male
2004 Deepak Thakur Hockey Male
2005 Dola Banerjee Archery Female
2005 Surya Shekhar Ganguly Chess Male
2005 Anju Jain Cricket Female
2005 Manjeet Kaur Athletics Female
2005 Akhil Kumar Boxing Male
2005 Ramesh Kumar Kabaddi Male
2005 Sushil Kumar Wrestling Male
2005 Gagan Narang Shooting Male
2005 Aparna Popat Badminton Female
2005 Rajinder Singh Rahelu Powerlifting§ Male
2005 Tarundeep Rai Archery Male
2005 Viren Rasquinha Hockey Male
2005 Soumyadeep Roy Table Tennis Male
2005 Shikha Tandon Swimming Female
2005 Anuja Thakur Billiards & Snooker Female
2006 Chetan Anand Badminton Male
2006 Rohit Bhaker Badminton§ Male
2006 K. M. Binu Athletics Male
2006 Anjum Chopra Cricket Female
2006 Navneet Gautam Kabaddi Male
2006 Saurav Ghosal Squash Male
2006 Pentala Harikrishna Chess Male
2006 Geetika Jakhar Wrestling Female
2006 Jyoti Sunita Kullu Hockey Female
2006 Vijay Kumar Shooting Male
2006 Geeta Rani Weightlifting Female
2006 Subhajit Saha Table Tennis Male
2006 Vijender Singh Boxing Male
2006 Jayanta Talukdar Archery Male
2007 Arjun Atwal Golf Male
2007 Farman Basha Powerlifting§ Male
2007 Tombi Devi Judo Female
2007 Harika Dronavalli Chess Female
2007 Varghese Johnson Boxing Male
2007 Avneet Sidhu Shooting Female
2007 Prabhjot Singh Hockey Male
2007 Chitra Soman Athletics Female
2007 Anup Sridhar Badminton Male
2007 Bajrang Lal Takhar Rowing Male
2007 Alka Tomar Wrestling Female
2009 Mangal Singh Champia Archery Male
2009 Laishram Sarita Devi Boxing Female
2009 Yogeshwar Dutt Wrestling Male
2009 Gautam Gambhir Cricket Male
2009 Poulomi Ghatak Table Tennis Female
2009 Satish Joshi Rowing Male
2009 Surinder Kaur Hockey Female
2009 Saina Nehwal Badminton Female
2009 Parul Parmar Badminton§ Female
2009 Sinimole Paulose Athletics Female
2009 Tania Sachdev Chess Female
2009 Pankaj Navnath Shirsat Kabaddi Male
2009 Ronjan Sodhi Shooting Male
2009 Ignace Tirkey Hockey Male
2009 Girdhari Lal Yadav Yachting Male

Explanatory notes

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  1. ^ The cash prize was introduced in the year 1977–1978 as a scholarship of ₹200 (US$2.40) a month for 2 years.[18] It was revised to one time cash prize of ₹5,000 (US$60) in 1986,[19] to ₹20,000 (US$240) in 1987,[20] to ₹50,000 (US$600) in 1993,[21] to ₹1.5 lakh (US$1,800) in 1998,[22] to ₹3 lakh (US$3,600) in 2001,[23] to ₹5 lakh (US$6,000) in 2009,[24] and to ₹15 lakh (US$18,000) in 2020.[25]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Revised Scheme of Arjuna Award" (PDF). Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (India). 7 September 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  2. ^ Chhetri, Vivek (30 May 2015). "Team spirit at its peak for Arjuna". Telegraph India. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  3. ^ "Vishwanathan Anand gets Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award" (PDF) (Press release). Press Information Bureau, India. 18 August 1992. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  4. ^ Davis, Richard H. (26 October 2014). The Bhagavad Gita. ISBN 978-0-691-13996-8.
  5. ^ "Sports Ministry unveils new look Sports Awards" (Press release). Press Information Bureau, India. 26 August 2009. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  6. ^ Bhardwaj, D. K. "India in Sports: Some Fabulous Achievements". Press Information Bureau, India. Archived from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  7. ^ "Cash awards for Arjuna winners" (PDF) (Press release). Press Information Bureau, India. 12 October 1977. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Arjuna Awards further expanded" (PDF) (Press release). Press Information Bureau, India. 24 May 1995. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  9. ^ a b c d e "List of Arjuna Awardees (1961–2018)" (PDF). Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (India). Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 July 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  10. ^ a b Mohan, KP (9 August 2017). "India's national sports awards have lost meaning thanks to the government's constant tinkering". Scroll India. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  11. ^ Sharma, Aabhas (5 July 2013). "India's first celebrity athlete". Business Standard. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  12. ^ Pritam, Norris (6 November 1998). "38 Year Old Indian Record Falls". IAAF. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  13. ^ "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag box office collections top Rs 102 crore". Business Today. 12 August 2013. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  14. ^ "Winners Honoured at 61st National Film Award Function". NDTV. 3 May 2014. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  15. ^ "Milkha Singh not to accept Arjuna Award". The Tribune. 16 August 2001. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  16. ^ a b Ugra, Sharda; Vinayak, Ramesh (3 September 2001). "Milkha Singh refuses Arjuna Award, says not all awardees are deserving". India Today. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  17. ^ Mohan, K. P. (10 January 2014). "An illogical points system for Arjuna award". The Hindu. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  18. ^ "Two years Scholarship for winners" (PDF) (Press release). Press Information Bureau, India. 27 October 1978. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  19. ^ "Arjuna Award for 1986 to 13 Sports persons" (PDF) (Press release). Press Information Bureau, India. 12 January 1988. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  20. ^ "Value of cash prize enhanced" (PDF) (Press release). Press Information Bureau, India. 30 May 1989. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  21. ^ "Arjuna awards, Dronachrya awards for 1998 Presented" (PDF) (Press release). Press Information Bureau, India. 22 July 1993. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  22. ^ "Value of cash prize enhanced" (Press release). Press Information Bureau, India. 1 September 1998. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  23. ^ "Arjuna Awards scheme Revised" (Press release). Press Information Bureau, India. 3 April 2002. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  24. ^ "Several initiatives undertaken for transformation of sports" (Press release). Press Information Bureau, India. 22 December 2009. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
  25. ^ "Enhancement of cash amount of Sports Awards 2020" (PDF). Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (India). 27 August 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2020.
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